Ulmus × hollandica 'Daveyi'

The Davey Elm, Ulmus × hollandica 'Daveyi', is an English hybrid cultivar of unknown specific origin, generally restricted to the valleys of Cornwall. Its apparent south-west England provenance, along with its foliage and habit, suggest that it may be a hybrid of Wych Elm and Cornish Elm.[1][2]

Ulmus × hollandica 'Daveyi'
Wind-pruned Davey Elm, Trenance Farm, Cornwall, UK
Hybrid parentageU. glabra × U. minor
Cultivar'Daveyi'
OriginEngland

Description

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The wide-spreading, irregular branches support pendulous branchlets. The leaves are comparatively small, rarely exceeding 6 cm in length by 5 cm wide, with a glabrous upper surface.[3][4][5][6] Photographs often show this tree in its windswept coastal form; inland its shape resembles more closely its putative Wych Elm parent, though with a denser crown.[1]

Pests and diseases

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The tree is susceptible to Dutch elm disease.

Cultivation

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A number of mature specimens are known to survive in south-west England, notably around Gulval, Newquay, the Roseland and St Kew in Cornwall.[1][7] The tree is not known to have been introduced to North America or Australasia, and is not in commerce in the UK.

Notable trees

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The UK TROBI Champion grows in the grounds of Holne Park House on the southern edge of Dartmoor. Discovered in 2017, it measured 30 m tall by 172 cm d.b.h. Another large tree grows in woodland behind Lancaster Avenue at Goodrington; when last measured in 2004 it was 22 m high by 100 cm d.b.h.[8]

Synonymy

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  • Ulmus major var. daveyi Henry[5]

Etymology

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The Davey Elm was named by Augustine Henry for Frederick Hamilton Davey (1868-1915), Cornish botanist and author of the Flora of Cornwall, first published in 1909 and reprinted in 1978.[5]

Accessions

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Europe

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Elm Trees - Cornwall Council". Cornwall Council.
  2. ^ Archie Miles, Hidden Trees of Britain, Ebury Press, 2007, p.17
  3. ^ Davey, Frederick Hamilton (1909). Flora of Cornwall. p. 401.
  4. ^ Thurston, Edgar (1922). Supplement to the Flora of Cornwall. pp. xiv, 124.
  5. ^ a b c Elwes, Henry John; Henry, Augustine (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. 7. p. 1884.
  6. ^ "Herbarium specimen - L.1587060". Botany catalogues. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Ulmus major var. daveyi Henry (Kew, 1938); "Herbarium specimen - L.4209945". Botany catalogues. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Sheet labelled U. glabra x U. stricta, Wembury Valley, Devon, 1939 (Melville); "Herbarium specimen - L.4209950". Botany catalogues. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Sheet labelled U. glabra x U. stricta, Wembury, Devon, 1939 (Melville)
  7. ^ Tree Register Of the British Isles.
  8. ^ Johnson, O. (2011). Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland, 169. Kew Publishing, Kew, London. ISBN 9781842464526.
  9. ^ "List of plants in the {elm} collection". Brighton & Hove City Council. Retrieved 23 September 2016.