Cultivar 'Crispa' | Origin England | |
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Similar Ulmus minor 'Purpurascens', Ulmus minor 'Schuurhoek', Ulmus glabra 'Cornuta', Ulmus minor 'Propendens', Ulmus pumila 'Drop' | ||
The wych elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Crispa' [:'curled' (the leaf margin)], sometimes known as the Fernleaf Elm, arose before 1800 and was first listed by Willdenow as U. crispa (1809). Loudon determined it a variety of U. montana [:U. glabra] (1838).
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Description
'Crispa' is a slow-growing tree with pendulous branches bearing narrow, linear to oblanceolate leaves up to 9 cm long by 3.5 cm broad, distinctively wrinkled and with numerous incised curved teeth. Elwes and Henry described it as a small tree, but mature specimens in Sweden have attained a height comparable to the type.
Pests and diseases
A cultivar of the wych elm, 'Crispa' is susceptible to Dutch elm disease.
Cultivation
The tree was once to be found in botanical gardens across Britain, notably at Kew, but only one mature tree is now known to survive, at the Rosemoor Garden in Devon. Specimens survive in Sweden and Latvia. As 'Crispa' was marketed in Poland in the 19th century by the Ulrich nursery, Warsaw, other specimens may still survive elsewhere in Eastern Europe.
The tree is not known to have been introduced to North America, but was once listed by nurseries in Australia in the early 20th century; there are no records of any survivors.