Ulmus glabra (Switzerland)

Ulmus glabra Huds., Fl. Angl. 95 1762. (syn: Ulmus campestris L. …; Ulmus cebennensis Audib. ex Planch.; Ulmus communis Carrière; Ulmus glabra var. horizontalis (G.Kirchn.) Dippel; Ulmus horizontalis Loudon [Invalid]; Ulmus latifolia Moench; Ulmus major Sm.; Ulmus montana With. [Illegitimate] ..; Ulmus podolica Klokov; Ulmus scabra Mill. ..; Ulmus sukaczevii Andrews);

Ulmus glabra, the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese in Greece; it is also found in Iran. A large, deciduous tree, it is essentially a montane species, growing at elevations of up to 1500 m, preferring sites with moist soils and high humidity.^[1]

The word wych (also spelled witch) comes from the Old English wice, meaning pliant or supple, which also gives us wicker and weak. An older name for the tree was “wych hazel”, perhaps based on the similar appearance of hazel and wych elm shoots.

The wych elm sometimes reaches heights of 40 m, typically with a broad crown where open-grown, supported by a short bole < 2 m. d.b.h. There are not normally root suckers; natural reproduction is by seed alone. The tree is notable for its very tough, supple young shoots, which are always without the corky ridges or ‘wings’ characteristic of many elms. The alternate leaves are deciduous, 6–17 cm long by 3–12 cm broad, usually obovate with an asymmetric base, the lobe often completely covering the short (<5 mm) petiole; the upper surface is rough. Leaves on juvenile or shade-grown shoots sometimes have three or more lobes near the apex.^[6] The perfect hermaphrodite flowers appear before the leaves in early spring, produced in clusters of 10–20; they are 4 mm across on 10 mm long stems and, being wind-pollinated, are apetalous. The fruit is a winged samara 20 mm long and 15 mm broad, with a single, round, 6 mm seed in the centre, maturing in late spring.^[7]^[8]

The wych elm is moderately shade-tolerant, but requires deep, rich soils as typically found along river valleys.^[16] However, the species is intolerant of flooding, as it is of prolonged drought.^[17] Although rarely used as a street tree owing to its shape, it can be surprisingly tolerant of urban air pollution, constricted growing conditions and severe pollarding.
(from Wikipedia on 16.10.16)