3G THE .lOUKX-VL OF BOTANY 



THE FLOWERING-TIMES OF SOME BRITISH ELMS. 

 Br Miller Christy, F.L.S. 



The respective times of flowering of our various species of Elm 

 are, of course, known approximately ; but these times have never 

 been observed and recorded with that amount of precision which is 

 desirable, as it seems to me, for various reasons. The subject is not 

 so much as alluded to in our leading work on British trees ; and even 

 those who have made and recorded observations on the point have 

 usually omitted to identify carefully and to indicate jjrecisel}^ the 

 jDarticular species observed. 



Owing to this lack of definite information, it has hardl}^ been 

 adequately recognized hitherto that each sspecies has its own special 

 fiowering-time — all, of course, in spring; and that, though these 

 flowering-times xary somewhat in different je'drs (manily, no doubt, 

 as a result of weather-influences), the}'' are suflicienth^ fixed and 

 regular to constitute specific characters of value in distinguishing 

 between the various members of this highly- " critical " genus. In 

 these circumstances, the following more or less casual observations, 

 made by myself in Essex during the last few years, seem worth 

 recording. 



My attention was first drawn pointedly to the subject in the year 

 1911, Avhen Mr. E. E.Turner, then of Coggeshall in the same county, 

 communicated to me a series of observations, made by himself in the 

 vicinity of that town and extending over twenty-eight consecutive 

 years (1S82-1911). These observations, jDublished shortly after in 

 the Essex Naturalist (xvi. 331 ; 1912), showed that, in 1890 and 

 1905, he first saw the Elms in his district in flower at the end 

 of January ; while in 1886, 1889, 1895, 1901, and 1909, he did not 

 see them in flower until quite the end of March — thus showing 

 extremel}^ wide variation. Mr. Turner assumed, unfortunateh^ that 

 all the trees he had had under observation were of one species, 

 which he speaks of as Ulmiis cam^yestris ; but there can be no 

 doubt that he had observed, and failed to discriminate between, trees 

 belonging to at least two species Avhich have widelj^-different flowering- 

 times ; and this fact detracts largel}^ from the value of his diligent 

 and long-continued observations. It was my early recognition of this 

 which led me to attempt more precise observations upon certain Elms 

 growing in and around my own garden at Chignal St. James, near 

 Chelmsford, with results hereafter set forth. 



It is not always easy to make observations of the kind. In the 

 case of the Elms, flowering takes place chiefly near the tops of the 

 trees, often 60 or 80 feet above the ground ; and it is difficult to 

 ascertain, even with a good glass, just when the swelled buds change 

 into opened flowers with dehiscing anthers. For this reason I found 

 it necessary to collect with a shot-gun not a few of the twigs which 

 I required in order to make sure on the point. Further it must be 



