Cultivar 'Majadahonda' | Origin Spain | |
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The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Majadahonda' was cloned by grafting scions from a tree found growing in the suburb of Majadahonda, 16 km north-west of Madrid, by researchers at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Montes, Universidad Politėcnica de Madrid in 1993. The tree is one of a number found to have a very high resistance to Dutch Elm Disease, on a par with, if not greater than, the hybrid cultivar 'Sapporo Autumn Gold'. In the Madrid study, the appearance of the tree was rated 4.1 / 5.
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'Majadahonda' was introduced to the UK in 2016, by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Branch, Butterfly Conservation, as part of an assessment of DED-resistant cultivars as potential hosts of the endangered White-letter Hairstreak.
Description
'Majadahonda' grew at a modest rate of 61 cm per annum in the trials at Puerta de Hierro, Madrid. The branches, devoid of corky tissue, form a rounded crown. The leaves, on comparatively long 11 mm petioles, are elliptic, typically oblique at the base and acuminate at the apex, the average length and width 50 × 29 mm, the margins distinctively simply serrate. Foliar density relative to 'Sapporo Autumn Gold' is described as 'high'.
Cultivation
The cultivar is undergoing further trials in different environments in Spain, where it will be tested by inoculation in 2018. If resistance remains satisfactory, the tree will be released to commerce under licence. 'Majadahonda' is also being assessed as part of Butterfly Conservation's elm trials in southern Hampshire, England.