What is this tree called?

[fensant]

Good idea, Woodman. However, the relevant position is listed as "vacant" on the Council's website (link). Besides, Dutchess is right - that would be too easy!

[poschiavanus]

The fruits show that this is an Elm. Not sure which one, the leaf is rather long for either of the countryside ones.

[The Woodman]

Well well.

I was contemplating the Cornish Elm due to its conformation and doing a bit of research looking at Paul Sterry's tome was comparing fensants leaf image to the Jersey Elm. In the text for that species, he writes, "occasionaly planted in Britain too as a street tree, for example, in Edinburgh." is that a coincidence or divine intervention?

[fensant]

Hey Woodman, Cornish elm seems to fit best so far. The general shape of the tree and the description of the leaves match very well (link). I forgot to mention in my first post that the leaves are glossy and not hairy.

[poschiavanus]

Also keys out quite nicely as Cornish Elm in the new BSBI Vegetative Flora. Leaves < 7 cm long, leaves smooth, not spreading in outline, <35 teeth on per side, 8-12 pairs veins, petiole 4-7mm. Ulmus minor ssp. sarnensis, has pyramidal crown, leaves with more toothing, and slightly longer petiole, and burrs on trunk.

[The Woodman]

All good stuff and I hope the tree register has the specimen in question recorded correctly!

How does the BSBI compare to Jersey Elm?

I only ask this due to the mention in P. Sterry's guide.

[poschiavanus]

Originally Posted by The Woodman

All good stuff and I hope the tree register has the specimen in question recorded correctly!

How does the BSBI compare to Jersey Elm?

I only ask this due to the mention in P. Sterry's guide.

Well it calls it the Guernsey Elm for starters, Ulmus minor ssp. sarniensis, so the question is already answered. The names are almost as confusing as the trees!

[The Woodman]

The intrigue continues......
As with alot of interesting topics theres more to learn!

My old "bible" British Trees by Miles Hadfield calls U. stricta var. sarniensis the Jersey Elm but gives its alternative names as Guernsey or Wheatley Elm.

Paul Sterry in Collins Complete British Trees refers to Jersey Elm as Ulmus 'Sarniensis' and notes that Stace refers to the tree as U. minor ssp. sarniensis.

A J Coombes in Trees calls U. minor the Smooth Leaved Elm and amazingly doesn't list English, Guernsey, Jersey or Wych Elm

Gerald Wilson in Epitaph for the Elm gets better! He delves into the taxonomy and suggests that Wheatley and Jersey Elms are botanically the same and the cultivated variety is a clone selected from a multiple hybrid with U. angustifolia uppermost in its make-up. U. angustifolia being the Cornish Elm.

I don't want to start looking into Goodyear's Elm!

A veritable minefield.

[poschiavanus]

It gets worse. English Elm U. procera, was, pretty conclusively in my opinion, shown to be a cultivar of U. minor brought to Britain by the Romans for staking out vineyards. There is a book dating from classical times describing something called the Atinian Elm.

Here's a link to the BBC report when the paper was published.

It's dangerous to use books like Mitchell's Collins Trees guide for latin names. I've been caught out a couple of times of late with names of hybrids which have changed since the 1970s.