A hedgerow tree of the lowlands that was killed in tens of millions by a fungal disease spread by bark beetles from the 1960s
English elm — Dutch elm disease.
Nature · Trees
English elm
Long-established lowland tree (origin debated) · deciduous, to 30 m · hedgerows of England and Wales
Ulmus procera — Ulmaceae
Once the great tree of the English lowland hedgerow, English elm was ravaged by Dutch elm disease from the 1960s. Killed trees regrow from the roots as thickets of suckers, which is why it survives as low hedges but seldom as large trees. Woodland Trust says it is now only found occasionally in hedgerows or woodland, mainly in England and Wales.
How to know it
How to spot them
- ▸Small rough-topped leaves 4–9 cm, round to oval, with an asymmetric base and sharply pointed tip
- ▸Fewer serrations along the leaf margin than wych elm
- ▸Grey-brown rough fissured bark, with suckers at the base of the trunk
- ▸Sparse reddish hairs on buds and twigs
- ▸Dark pink-red flowers in tassels in February and March, before the leaves
How to know it
When killed, it regrows from surviving roots as dense thickets of suckers rather than from seed
English elm — it reproduces vegetatively.
Small, rough-textured leaves that are lopsided at the base and much smaller than those of the wych elm
English elm.
Dark pink to red flowers hang in tassels in February and March, and fruits are winged samaras
English elm.
A tree once dedicated to Morpheus, the god of sleep, whose wood made coffins and water pipes
English elm.
Its leaves feed the white-letter hairstreak butterfly, which has declined dramatically since the disease arrived
English elm.
Quick-fire facts
- •Ulmus procera: the name procera means tall
- •Forest Research: the aggressive fungus Ophiostoma novo-ulmi arrived in the 1960s on imported elm logs from North America, and a milder earlier outbreak from O. ulmi came around 1910
- •Forest Research: some 20 million mature elms died within a decade, out of more than 30 million
- •Elm bark beetles, especially the large elm bark beetle (Scolytus scolytus), spread the fungus
- •English elm reproduces vegetatively: roots survive and sprout suckers, which is why hedges of elm regrow, though the suckers become infected again when they mature
- •Woodland Trust: English elm is only occasionally found now, mainly in England and Wales
- •Elm wood is strong, water-resistant and twisted-grained, so was used for boats, wheel hubs, floorboards, coffins and water pipes
- •Elms drop dead branches without warning and were associated with melancholy and death
- •The white-letter hairstreak butterfly feeds on elms and has declined since Dutch elm disease arrived
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Sources
- Woodland Trust — English elm (Ulmus procera)
- Forest Research — Dutch elm disease (Ophiostoma novo-ulmi)