Ulmus 1889 



Ulmus campestris, var. cornubtensis, Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. 1376 (1838). 



Ulmus stricta, Lindley, Syn. Brit. Flora, 227 (1829); Moss, in Gard. Chron. li. 234 (1912). 



A tree, attaining about 80 ft. in height and 15 ft. in girth, rather variable in 

 habit, but usually with a narrow crown, with the upper branches short and ascend- 

 ing, the lower branches spreading and curving upwards at the ends. Bark light 

 grey, Assuring into small plates. Young branchlets often densely pubescent at the 

 insertions of the leaves, elsewhere with scattered hairs. Buds minute, with glabrous 

 scales, slightly ciliate in margin. Leaves (Plate 41 2, Fig. 20) firm in texture, obovate 

 to oval, 2 to 2\ in. long, i to i^ in. broad, unequal at the base, acuminate at the 

 apex ; upper surface dark green, shining, glabrous, smooth to the touch, lower surface 

 lighter green, with conspicuous tufts of pubescence at the junctions of the midrib and 

 lateral nerves, and at the forks of the latter, and with slight tufts usually near the margin 

 at the base of the teeth, elsewhere glabrous or with minute scattered pubescence ; 

 lateral nerves about twelve pairs, often forked ; margin crenately biserrate, non- 

 ciliate ; petiole about \ in. long, pubescent. 



Flowers, fifteen to twenty in small clusters, on very short pedicels, irregular in 

 the number of sepals and stamens, but mostly tetramerous ; calyx funnel-shaped, 

 minute, about -^ in. long, with pink lobes ; stamens four or five, with pink filaments 

 and dull red anthers ; stigmas pink, Samarse rarely ripening, but when mature, 

 similar to those of typical U. nitens, but narrower, obovate, cuneate at the base, about 

 f in. long and f in. wide ; imperfect samarae are usually broadly obovate, less than 

 \ in. long. 



From ten lots of seed, sent me from different localities in Cornwall, I raised in 

 1909, thirty-eight seedlings, all of which bore opposite leaves. These plants are now 

 all uniform in appearance ; and in all probability the Cornish elm is a pure species. 



In Abbeyleix Park, Ireland, there are a few elms, growing with oak trees on the 

 alluvial flat of the river Nore, which are probably indigenous. These are similar in 

 foliage to the Cornish elm ; and have similar small tetramerous flowers, few in a 

 cluster, but differing in having white stigmas. These trees produced a few ripe 

 samarae in 1909, similar to those of U. nitens, but scarcely \ in. long. From 

 these I raised two seedlings, with opposite leaves, which in 191 2 resembled the 

 seedlings of the Cornish elm. 



The suckers of the Cornish elm, which are freely produced, have pubescent 

 stems, and small leaves, scabrous above with scattered minute tubercles and short 

 bristles. The epicormic branches are usually smooth, but occasionally develop corky 

 ridges, which are, however, never seen on the normal branches in the crown of the 



tree. 



In Cornwall, the tree is slow in growth, but it produces a remarkably tough 

 wood, which is used by wheelwrights for naves, felloes, and framework of waggons ; 

 and was formerly utilised as staves for the casks in which cement and china clay 

 were exported, and also for making boxes in which gunpowder was compressed 

 by an hydraulic press, as no other wood was found to bear great pressure 



so well. 



The Cornish elm is undoubtedly indigenous in Cornwall and south Devon, 



