The hybrid elm cultivar Ulmus × hollandica 'Cinerea' was first listed by George Lindley (father of John Lindley) in 1815, as Ulmus cinerea, the ash-coloured elm, and later by the André Leroy Nurseries, Angers, France, in 1856. It was distributed as Ulmus cinerea by the Baudriller nursery, Angers,Baudriller Établissement d'Horticulture, Catalogue général descriptif et raisonné des arbres fruitiers, forestiers & d'ornement cultivés dans l'établissement. Année. 1880, p.117 and as Ulmus montana cinerea by Louis van Houtte of Ghent.Cultures de Louis van Houtte: Plantes Vivaces de Pleine Terre, Catalogue de Louis van Houtte, 1881-2, p.303 A specimen in cultivation at Kew in 1964 was found to be U. × hollandica, but the tree at Wakehurst Place remains listed as U. glabra 'Cinerea'.
Description The tree was described as having branches "stunted and tortuous, the upper ascending, the lower more or less pendulous", with "crowded" leaves similar to those of Exeter Elm."herbariaunited.org, specimen 295176" Sheet labelled Ulmus montana var. cinerea, Kew specimen, 1909; Sheet labelled Ulmus glabra Huds. var. cinerea (Kew specimen)
Pests and diseases The tree is susceptible to Dutch elm disease.
Cultivation Only one living specimen is known, at Wakehurst Place, England, where it survives by being treated as a hedging plant, too low to attract the attentions of the Scolytus beetles that act as vectors of Dutch elm disease. Introduced to North America, 'Cinerea' was marketed, as Ulmus cinerea, 'Ash-coloured elm', by the Mount Hope Nursery (also known as Ellwanger and Barry) of Rochester, New York from the 1860s.Ellwanger & Barry, Descriptive Catalogue of Hardy Ornamental Trees ... at the Mount Hope Nurseries (Rochester, N.Y., 1868), p.9Ellwanger & Barry, Descriptive Catalogue of Hardy Ornamental Trees ... at the Mount Hope Nurseries (Rochester, N.Y., 1875) Listed as a wych cultivar, 'Cinerea' was present in The Hague in the 1930s.Christine Buisman, 'Verslag van de onderzoekingen over de iepenziekte, verricht in het phytopathologisch laboratorium Willie Commelin scholten te Baarn, gedurende 1932 (1)', Tijdschrift over Planteziekte, Vol 39 Iss 4, April 1933, p.86 The tree is not known to have been introduced to Australasia.
Accessions
Europe
Royal Botanic Gardens Wakehurst Place, UK. Acc. no. 1973–21051, listed as U. glabra 'Cinerea'.
References