The field elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Stricta', known as Cornish elm, was commonly found in South West England (Cornwall and West Devon), Brittany, and south-west Ireland, until the arrival of Dutch elm disease in the late 1960s. The origin of Cornish elm in the south-west of Britain remains a matter of contention. It is commonly assumed to have been introduced from Brittany.Richens, R. H. (1983). Elm. Cambridge University Press It is also considered possible that the tree may have survived the ice ages on lands to the south of Cornwall long since lost to the sea.White, J. & More, D. (2002). Trees of Britain & Northern Europe. Cassell's, London. Henry thought it "probably native in the south of Ireland". Dr Max Coleman of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, arguing in his 2002 paper on British elms that there was no clear distinction between species and subspecies, suggested that known or suspected clones of Ulmus minor, once cultivated and named, should be treated as cultivars, preferred the designation U. minor 'Stricta' to Ulmus minor var. stricta. The DNA of 'Stricta' has been investigated and the cultivar is now known to be a clone.Coleman M. (2002) 'British elms.' British Wildlife 13 (6): 390–395.
Mature trees labelled 'Cornish elm' are now largely restricted to Australia and New Zealand, where they were introduced in the 19th century (but see 'Stricta'-like cultivars below).Spencer, Roger, ed., Horticultural Flora of South-Eastern Australia, Vol. 2 (Sydney, 1995), Ulmus, p. 113
Description Growing to a height of up to in sheltered situations (in exposed situations it is usually half the size), the Cornish elm is a slender, slow-growing deciduous tree, distinguished by its long, straight trunk, which culminates in a narrow fan-shaped crown comprising short, straight, ascending branches.Diagnostic photographs of Cornish elm in St Austell (Francis Frith Collection); at Coldrenick, Menheniot (Elwes and Henry, The Trees of Britain and Ireland vol.VII, Plate 397 [after p.1933]); in Zelah (oldcornwall.netfirms.com) . The leaves are small, obovate to oval, typically acuminate at the apex, 6 cm long by 3.5 cm broad, with a dark-green upper surface, glossy and smooth. Sheet described as var. stricta, "the prevailing elm about Trelissick and Truro", Cornwall (1908)Hans Heybroek's herbarium specimen of Cornish elm leaves: U. stricta var. cornubiensis, south of Penzance, 1958herbariaunited.org, herbarium specimen, Ulmus minor subsp. angustifolia, Cornish elm leaves, Falmouth, 1850Brian Eversham, 'Identifying British Elms, Ulmus '; Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire Wildlife Trusts, v. 2.3.1 July 2021; p.76 The perfect apetalous wind-pollinated flowers occur in clusters of 15–20 on very short pedicels. The samarae rarely ripen in England, but when mature are very similar to those of others in the field elm group, being mostly obovate, 16 mm long by 10 mm broad. A survey of Cornish elms in County Cork, Ireland (2007), found some variation in smoothness or roughness of leaf-surface and in basal asymmetry.
Dr Oliver Rackham (1986) noted that Cornish elms with "more spreading" crowns grow around Truro and on the Lizard Peninsula, illustrating the variety, which he called 'Lizard Elm', with a 1980 photograph.Rackham, Oliver, The History of the Countryside (London, 1986), p.236'Stricta' from St Anthony-in-Meneage, Lizard Peninsula, bioportal.naturalis.nl, specimen L.1582352 The large old specimen of Cornish elm in Castletownbere Cemetery in County Cork, Ireland (see 'Notable trees' below) matches Rackham's description and photograph of his 'Lizard Elm'.Cornish elm in Castletownbere Cemetery, County Cork, Ireland; ulmen-handbuch.de
Pests and diseases Cornish elm is very susceptible to Dutch elm disease, but suckers remain a common component of hedgerows in parts of Cornwall, and thus the genetic resources of this cultivar are not considered endangered.Ipgri.cgiar.org Like other field elms, propagation is almost entirely by suckers, which the tree produces copiously.Stace, C. A. (1997). New Flora of the British Isles, 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press
Cultivation and uses
Cornish elm was traditionally considered the best shelter-belt tree along the Cornish coast. Its timber was much prized for its strength, and was commonly used in wheel and wagon construction.Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland . Vol. VII. 1848–1929. Republished 2004 Cambridge University Press, Working Cornish pilot gigs were traditionally built from Cornish elm: the Rules of the Cornish Pilot Gig Association specified that to take part in gig races the boat should be made from "Cornish narrow-leaved elm".Cornish Pilot Gig Association, cpga.co.uk/Edwards, Ian, 'Uses of Elm Past and Present', in Coleman, Max, ed. Wych Elm (Edinburgh (2009), p.45 Ley (1910) described Cornish elm as "abundant in Brittany, very abundant in West Cornwall, becoming less abundant in East Cornwall and West Devon". Cornish elm was later cultivated as an ornamental tree in parts of southern England and southern Ireland, and, more rarely, in UK urban plantings.Hanham, Frederick (1857). A Manual for the Park: or, A botanical arrangement and description of the trees and shrubs in the Royal Victoria Park, Bath. p.209. London.Inman, Frederic (1905) 'The Elm, with a Notice of some Remarkable Varieties in the Victoria Park, Bath', January 1902, from Proceedings of the Bath natural history and antiquarian field club, vol.10, p.36. Bath. Hillier & Sons nursery, Winchester, Hampshire, was among the nurseries that supplied it, carefully distinguishing it from Wheatley elm.Trees and Shrubs Catalogue, Hillier & Sons, 1958–1959, p.99 The locations of notable plantings of Cornish elm, both in Cornwall and beyond, are listed in Henry (1913), Richens (1983), and Mitchell (1996).
Few mature specimens are known to survive in the wild in England. Only one is known in Cornwall (see under 'Notable trees'), while about 18 reputedly grow in the Brighton & Hove enclave. Another two have been reported (2009) from East Sussex at Selmeston, near the footpath across the grounds of Sherrington Manor.South Downs Online Two specimens survive in Edinburgh (2019), an old tree in Dean Gardens, and a younger by Greenside Church, Calton Hill.
The Wheatley or Guernsey elm (Ulmus minor 'Sarniensis') was often misnamed "Cornish elm" in the UK by the local authorities who planted it extensively.Mitchell, A. (1996) The Trees of Britain (London) Introduced to the US, Ulmus campestris cornubiensis, 'Cornish elm', appeared from the 1860s in catalogues of the Mount Hope Nursery (also known as Ellwanger and Barry) of Rochester, New York,Ellwanger & Barry, Descriptive Catalogue of Hardy Ornamental Trees ... at the Mount Hope Nurseries (Rochester, N.Y., 1868), p.8Ellwanger & Barry, Descriptive Catalogue of Hardy Ornamental Trees ... at the Mount Hope Nurseries (Rochester, N.Y., 1875) later catalogues distinguishing it from Wheatley Elm.Ellwanger & Barry, Descriptive Catalogue of Hardy Ornamental Trees ... at the Mount Hope Nurseries (Rochester, N.Y., 1899), p.63 Cornish Elm also appeared separately from Wheatley Elm in the catalogues of the Brown Brothers' Nursery'General catalogue of fruit and ornamental trees', Brown Brothers Co., Rochester, N.Y., 1899, p.68 & 70 and the Perry Nursery Co. of Rochester, N.Y.Illustrated and descriptive catalogue of fruit and ornamental trees, Perry Nursery Co., Rochester, N.Y., 1912, p.90
For so-called Cornish elm in Australia, see 'Stricta'-like cultivars below.
Notable trees The Great Elm of Rosuic, an ancient pollard elm which attained a d.b.h. of over before succumbing to disease, continues to produce suckers.Rackham, Oliver, A History of the Countryside (London, 1986)
, the Woodland Trust lists only one verified mature Cornish elm surviving in Cornwall, a specimen in girth at Tregoose near Helston.Details and photographs of Tregoose elm . Ancient-tree-hunt.org. A large specimen with a forked trunk stands in Castletownbere Cemetery in County Cork, Ireland, with a bole-girth (2007) of 450 cm (making it about 150 years old), a height of 25 m and a crown diameter of 20 m, along with a small number of younger Cornish elms with an average d.b.h. of 143 cm.Mackenthun, G. L. (2007) The elms of Co. Cork - a survey of species, varieties and forms. Irish Forestry Vol 64, (1 & 2) 2007; p.48, p.53Cornish elm; ulmen-handbuch.de
Synonymy U. cornubiensis Weston (1770) U. nitens var. stricta Aiton (1789) U. stricta Lindley (1829) U. campestris var. cornubiensis Loudon (1838) ?U. reticulata Dumort. stricta Dumort.botanicalcollections.be specimen BR0000005422838 U. carpinifolia var. cornubiensis
Varieties An Ulmus stricta parvifolia, a "less common" form of Cornish elm, was described by Lindley in A Synopsis of British Flora, arranged according to the Natural Order (1829), from trees in Cornwall and North Devon, with "leaves much smaller" than Cornish elm, "less oblique at the base, finely and regularly crenate" and "acuminate" rather than, as in Cornish elm, "cuspidate".Loudon, J. C., Hortus lignosus londinensis (London 1838), p.92-4 Sheet (left hand side) described as U. stricta (Royal Botanic Society specimen, 1843); "Herbarium specimen BR0000005422838". Botanic Garden, Meise. Sheet labelled Ulmus reticulata Dumort. stricta Dumort., re-labelled U. cornubiensis by Melville (juvenile leaves) Melville considered Goodyer's elm a variety of Cornish elm. Some nurseries listed 'Dickson's Golden Elm' as form of Cornish elm.
Hybrids It has been suggested that the cultivar 'Daveyi' is a natural hybrid of Wych elm and Cornish elm;Archie Miles, Hidden Trees of Britain, Ebury Press, 2007, p.17 likewise 'Exoniensis'. F. J. Fontaine conjectured that the cultivar Ulmus 'Purpurea' is related to the Cornish elm.
'Stricta'-like elms An U. campestris cornubiensis (syn. U. glabra cornubiensis) was distributed by the Späth nursery, Berlin, in the late 19th century and early 20th. Henry stated that the "beautiful narrow pyramidal tree" he had seen by that name in Späth's nursery differed from true Cornish elm, bearing instead "leaves similar in size and appearance to a common form of U. nitens" [:U. minor].Elwes & Henry (1913), p.1891Späth's atypical 'Cornubiensis': U. cornubiensis Kirchn. (from Späth nursery); U. glabra cornubiensis [ = U. campestris cornubiensis from Späth nursery, 1902]; U. glabra cornubiensis [ = U. campestris cornubiensis from Späth, 1902]; U. glabra cornubiensis [ = U. campestris cornubiensis from Späth, 1902]; U. campestris cornubiensis from Späth, 1902 One specimen of Späth's U. campestris cornubiensis was supplied to the Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa, Canada in 1897, and three to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1902, one being planted in the Garden proper and cultivated as U. stricta,RBGE Cultivated herbarium accessions book: Elms cultivated at Edinburgh Botanic Garden (1958), tree C2699 the other two being planted in the city. In 1958 Melville likewise queried Späth's Cornish elm (see External links below, herbarium specimen E00824799); Edward Kemp, however, RBGE curator (1950–71), accepted it.A photograph of the RBGE 'Stricta' appears in Clouston, B., & Stansfield, K., eds. After the Elm (London 1979) A specimen of what appears from herbarium specimens to be the same clone survives (2016) in Edinburgh (height about 25 m, girth about 2 m), in Douglas Crescent Gardens.Edinburgh 'Stricta' may be seen on Google Streetview, from 1 Douglas Gardens.Edinburgh 'Stricta' above Dean Village The latter also matches an 1825 herbarium specimen labelled "U. suberosa var., Hort. Millburn".1825 herbarium-specimen
Moss in The Cambridge British Flora (1914) noted that 'Hunnybunii pseudo-Stricta' was sometimes propagated in error for Cornish elm, Ulmus minor 'Stricta'.