Ulmus pumila 'Aurescens'
The Ulmus pumila cultivar 'Aurescens' was introduced by Georg Dieck at the National Arboretum, Zöschen, Germany, circa 1885. Dieck grew the tree from seed collected in the Ili valley, Turkestan (then a region of Russia, now part of Kazakhstan) by the lawyer and amateur naturalist Vladislav E. Niedzwiecki while in exile there.[1][2] Dieck originally named the tree U. pinnato-ramosa f. aurescens.[3]
| Ulmus pumila 'Aurescens' | |
|---|---|
 'Aurescens' spring foliage | |
| Species | Ulmus pumila |
| Cultivar | 'Aurescens' |
| Origin | Germany |
Description
'Aurescens' is distinguished by its golden leaves on emergent shoots in spring; the foliage reverts to dark green by summer.[1]
Leaf, in September
Bute Park tree in spring
Bute Park tree in winter
Pests and diseases
This cultivar has not been scientifically tested for Dutch elm disease resistance, however several old specimens have survived unscathed by the disease in the UK. (see Notable trees).
Cultivation
The tree is rare in Europe and unknown in North America and Australasia. In trials in England, it quickly perished where grown on winter-waterlogged ground.[4]
Notable trees
Two mature specimens are known in the UK: one at Bute Park Arboretum, Cardiff, planted c. 1980, height 15 m × 65 cm d.b.h. in 2004; another grows in a private garden at Seaford, East Sussex (see Accessions).[5]
Accessions
- Europe
- Brighton & Hove City Council, UK, NCCPG Elm Collection.[6] One tree in a private garden Seaford, East Sussex, recorded in 1995.
- Bute Park Arboretum, Cardiff, UK. One tree, tag number 1907, planted c. 1980, no other accession details available.
- Grange Farm Arboretum, Sutton St James, Spalding, Lincolnshire, UK. As U. pumila var. arborea 'Aurescens'. Acc. no. 1092.
- Wijdemeren City Council, Netherlands. Elm collection. Planted Overmeerseweg, Nederhorst den Berg 2015.
Nurseries
Europe
- Noordplant , Glimmen, Netherlands.
References
- Dieck, G. (1894). Neuheiten-Offerten des National-Arboretums zu Zöschen bei Merseburg, 1894/95.
- Hansen, N. How to produce that $1000 premium apple, in Minnesota State Hort. Soc. (1900). Trees, fruits & flowers of Minnesota. Vol. 28. 470-1. Forgotten Books, London, 2013. ISBN 9781153197953
- Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 24 (6–8): 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- Brookes, A. H. (2015). Great Fontley Elm Trial, 2015 Report. Butterfly Conservation, Lulworth, UK.
- Johnson, O. (ed.). (2011). Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland. p. 171. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London. ISBN 978-1842464526
- "List of plants in the {elm} collection". Brighton & Hove City Council. Retrieved 23 September 2016.