Hybrid parentage U. glabra × U. minor Origin Nottingham, England | Cultivar 'Smithii' | |
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The hybrid elm cultivar Ulmus × hollandica 'Smithii', commonly known as the Downton Elm, was one of a number of cultivars arising from the crossing of the Wych Elm U. glabra with the Field Elm U. minor. The tree was originally planted at Downton Castle[1] near Ludlow, as one of a batch raised at Smith's Nursery, Worcester, England, from seeds obtained from a tree in Nottingham in 1810. Some Victorian writers confused 'Smithii' with U. glabra 'Horizontalis' because both featured weeping branches.
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Description
'Smithii' made a small tree < 10 m high, with ascending branches bearing long pendulous shoots. The oval leaves are dark green and glabrous above, < 8.5 cm long by 4.0 cm wide, long acuminate at the apex.
Cultivation
'Smithii' was grown at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and at the National Botanic Gardens [2], Glasnevin, Ireland, before the First World War.
The Direction des Espaces Verts et de l'Environnement (DEVE) - Ville de Paris lists a 'Smithii' at the Square Louise-Michel, Paris (1990).