Ulmus 'Australis'

Description

The tree is distinguished by its conspicuously and numerously veined oval leathery leaves measuring 2 in to 3 in in length by 1.25 in to 1.75 in in width and with a petiole up to .25 in long.Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs. (1977). David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK. Henry's 1912 herbarium specimen from La Mortola, however, has a less cuspidate, field-elm type leaf.

Cultivation

Henry described as var. australis the oldest in the lines of elms along the Cours-la-Reine in Rouen, planted in 1649 by the Duc de Longueville, several of which were still alive in 1912, having attained a height of about 90 ft. He also mentioned specimens growing in botanical gardens at Le Mans and Bordeaux. "Similar" elms growing as far south as Spizza (now Sutomore) in Dalmatia (Montenegro) he labelled var. dalmatica Baldacci, File:Rouen, Le Cours la Reine.jpg|Rouen, Le Cours la Reine, c.1900, showing the 'Australis' mentioned by Elwes & Henry. File:Paris a la mer embarcadère Rouen 5.jpg|Same, in their heyday, 1840s File:Pissarro - the-cours-la-reine-at-rouen-morning-sunlight-1898.jpg|Same, by Camille Pissarro, 1898

An Ulmus × hollandica 'Australis' was propagated and marketed in the UK by the Hillier & Sons nursery, Winchester, Hampshire from 1970 to 1977 when production ceased; however none were ever sold. Hilliers considered their hybrid 'Australis' synonymous with Henry's U. minor var. italica, but Henry distinguished between the two, his var. italica having twice as many vein-pairs as his var. australis.

Neither 'Australis' is known to survive in cultivation.

Synonymy

• Ulmus campestris (: procera Salisb.) var. australis.
• Ulmus × hollandica 'Australis': Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs, ed. 4, p. 400, 1977, name in synonymy.
• Ulmus minor 'Italica': Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs, ed. 4, p. 400, 1977, name in synonymy.

References

References

1. Loudon, John Claudius. (1838). "Arboretum et fruticetum Britannicum".
2. (1913). "The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland".
3. [https://data.kew.org/records/occurrences/f65942e5-d8eb-4b74-9bf2-ec0b818ee2cb Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; herbarium specimen K000852647 (flowers): sheet labelled ''U. campestris'' var. ''australis'' Henry from La Mortola, Italy (1913)]
4. [https://data.kew.org/records/occurrences/a723e253-149d-4b2d-8241-1bdf70a35e20?lang=en-GB Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; herbarium specimen K000852648 (leaves): sheet labelled ''U. campestris'' var. ''australis'' Henry from La Mortola, Italy (1913)]
5. "Ulmus dalmatica Baldacci K000852645". Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
6. Hillier & Sons (1973). ''Manual of Trees & Shrubs'', David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK, 3rd edition, p.400. Hillier, Ampfield, UK.
7. Hillier & Sons ''Sales inventory 1962 to 1977'' (unpublished).