Ulmus americana 'Beebe's Weeping'

The American elm cultivar Ulmus americana 'Beebe's Weeping' was propagated from a tree growing in the wild at Galena, Illinois, by Mr. E. Beebe in the mid-19th century.[1][2] Thomas Meehan, who had received cuttings and called it 'Weeping Slippery Elm' before the flowers revealed that it was not Ulmus fulva, suggested the name 'Beebe's Weeping Elm', as there were already U. americana clones called 'Pendula'. In the early 20th century it was marketed, however, as Ulmus 'American Galena Weeping', "American Weeping Elm", by the Klehm nursery of Arlington Heights, Illinois.[3]

Ulmus americana 'Beebe's Weeping'
SpeciesUlmus americana
OriginGalena, Illinois, US

Description

'Beebe's Weeping' has thick cord-like branches which curve over as they grow, similar to a Weeping Willow, creating a dome of foliage. A very fast growing cultivar, trees planted at Germantown, Philadelphia, were reputed to gain 6 m (20 ft) per annum.[1] Klehm's top-grafted it at about 8 ft. A photograph of the "weeping willow" form of U. americana appears in Laney's 'The Types of the American elm' (1908; figure 6).[4]

Pests and diseases

No specific information available, but the species as a whole is highly susceptible to Dutch Elm Disease and Elm Yellows; it is also moderately preferred for feeding and reproduction by the adult Elm Leaf Beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola,[5] and highly preferred for feeding by the Japanese Beetle Popillia japonica [6][7] in the United States. U. americana is also the most susceptible of all the elms to verticillium wilt.[8]

Cultivation

Meehan's specimens at Germantown were about 35 ft tall in 1889, with trunks 3.5 ft in girth, suggesting an origins- and planting-date (at 1 inch girth growth a year) of the mid-19th century.[1] A few specimens are known to survive in the United States, mostly in Illinois where the cultivar originated.

A curious 'table top' elm growing in the center of Provo, Utah, planted in 1927 and said to be unique, appears to be less vigorous and more lateral-branched than the cultivar.[9][10]

Etymology

Named for Mr. E. Beebe, discoverer of the tree.

Synonymy
  • Ulmus fulva pendula: Meehan, Garden & Forest 2: 286, 1889.

References
  1. Meehan, Thomas, (1889), in Garden & Forest, 2: 286, 1889
  2. Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 24 (6–8): 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  3. Klehm's Nurseries, Season of 1910, Arlington Heights, Illinois, 1910, p.12
  4. Laney, C. C., 'The types of the American elm', The Garden Magazine, April 1908, p.155; trees.umn.edu
  5. Miller, Fredric; Ware, George (2001-02-01). "Resistance of Temperate Chinese Elms (Ulmus spp.) to Feeding by the Adult Elm Leaf Beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)". Journal of Economic Entomology. Oxford University Press (OUP). 94 (1): 162–166. doi:10.1603/0022-0493-94.1.162. ISSN 0022-0493. PMID 11233108. S2CID 42980569.
  6. Miller, Fredric; Ware, George; Jackson, Jennifer (2001-04-01). "Preference of Temperate Chinese Elms ( Ulmus spp.) for the Adult Japanese Beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)". Journal of Economic Entomology. Oxford University Press (OUP). 94 (2): 445–448. doi:10.1603/0022-0493-94.2.445. ISSN 0022-0493. PMID 11332837. S2CID 7520439.
  7. "Elm Leaf Beetle Survey". Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  8. Pegg, G. F. & Brady, B. L. (2002). Verticillium Wilts. CABI Publishing. ISBN 0-85199-529-2
  9. 'Utah County working to protect one-of-a-kind tree' ksl.com.news
  10. jacobbarlow.com/2014/04/01/oldest-weeping-american-elm-provo-ut/ 'Oldest Weeping American Elm, Provo, UT'
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