The Wych Elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Concavaefolia' (Fontaine, 1968), a form with up-curling leaves, was listed in Beissner's Handbuch der Laubholz-Benennung (1903) as Ulmus montana cucullata Hort. [:'hooded', the leaf],Beissner, Ludwig, Handbuch der Laubholz-Benennung (Berlin 1903), p.86 a synonym of the Ulmus scabra Mill. [:glabra Huds.] var. concavaefolia of herbarium specimens.naturalis.nl, specimen WAG.1853027 An Ulmus campestris cucullata, of uncertain species, had appeared in Loddiges' 1823 list, but Loudon's brief description (1838) of concave- and hooded-leaved elmsArboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum, 3: 1378, 1838 was insufficient for later botanists to distinguish them. The earliest unambiguous description appears to be that of Petzold and Kirchner in Arboretum Muscaviense (1864).Petzold and Kirchner in Arboretum Muscaviense (Gotha, 1864), p.557
Not to be confused with the field elm cultivar 'Webbiana', which also has longitudinally-folded, up-curling leaves (though smaller, shallower-toothed, and with longer petiole), or with concave-leaved field elms with down-curling leaves (see U. minor 'Concavaefolia' and U. minor 'Cucullata').
Description Petzold and Kirchner in Arboretum Muscaviense (1864) described the leaves of their Ulmus campestris cucullata as rough, up-curving, and bicorne-shaped, being longer and more "closed" than those of their Ulmus campestris concavaefolia (the description of which matches 'Webbiana'). The twigs had scattered hairs. The Kissena nurseries (Parsons & Sons) of New York (1903) described the leaves of their Ulmus campestris cucullata as "deeply curled like a hood, and sharply notched along the edges". Both descriptions match the U. glabra Huds. 'Concavaefolia' of Fontaine (1968), with its leaf folded lengthwise along the midrib, making it more or less tubular. Herbarium specimens show an up-curling wych leaf with a shorter petiole, more deeply toothed margin, and more acuminate apex than 'Webbiana'. Sheet labelled U. glabra Huds. 'Cucullata' (Arnold Arboretum specimen, 1930); "Herbarium specimen BR0000010840566". Botanic Garden, Meise. Juvenile long shoot, labelled U. campestris L. cucullata The samara was confirmed by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 2017 as U. glabra Huds..Correspondence with RBGE, 2017
Pests and diseases The tree is susceptible to Dutch elm disease.
Cultivation Though once cultivated in Europe and North America, only one specimen of 'Concavaefolia' is now known to survive (see 'Notable trees'). The cultivar was marketed as Ulmus montana cucullata Hort. by the van Houtte nursery of Ghent in the late 19th century,Cultures de Louis van Houtte: Plantes Vivaces de Pleine Terre, Catalogue de Louis van Houtte, 1881-2, p.303 the name used for the specimen at Kew Gardens.Hand-list of trees and shrubs, excluding Coniferae, grown in Arboretum Kew Gardens (London, 1902), p.621 'Concavaefolia' may have been the Ulmus campestris cucullata distributed by the Späth nursery of Berlin in the late 19th and early 20th century (to go by Späth's description of hooded grey leaves)Späth, L., cat. 79, Berlin 1890-91, p.113Späth, L., cat. 158, Berlin 1913-14, p.143 and supplied by him to the Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa, Canada (one tree, 1897), to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (three trees, 1902), and to the Ryston Hall arboretum, Norfolk (one tree, 1916). The tree was introduced to the USA c.1871, appearing as Ulmus campestris cucullata in the catalogues of the Mount Hope Nursery (also known as Ellwanger and Barry) of Rochester, New York,'Descriptive Catalogue of Ornamental Trees & Shrubs', no.2, Mount Hope Nursery, Rochester, 1871; p.6 the name by which it was marketed by the Kissena nurseries, N.Y.Kissena Nurseries, N.Y., 1903 catalogue, p.34 The cultivar was also marketed by Trumbull and Beebe's nursery, San Francisco, in the 1890s, as "Cucullata: a new variety, with leaves deeply curled like a hood, and sharply notched along the edges".'Trumbull & Beebe's descriptive catalogue of fruit and ornamental trees', San Francisco, 1892; p.35 Listed as a wych cultivar, 'Concavaefolia' 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 Australia or New Zealand.
'Concavaefolia' has been included in the propagation programme (2017) of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.Dr Max Coleman, 'Strange fruit offer lifeline to rare elms', Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh; stories.rbge.org.uk
Notable trees A specimen stood till 2017 (girth 2.8 m) in East Preston Street Cemetery, Edinburgh, before succumbing to DED.'Concavaefolia' in summer, East Preston Street Cemetery, Edinburgh, from Dalkeith Road - Google Maps, August 2014, access date: March 15, 2024'Concavaefolia' in winter, East Preston Street Cemetery, Edinburgh, from Dalkeith Road - Google Maps, October 2012, access date: March 15, 2024 A second, decayed old tree in Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh, is the remains (2019) of an Ulmus glabra 'Horizontalis' grafted at 2 m on a stock of 'Concavaefolia'.By the west wall, middle level, of Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh . The stock, now 3 m in girth (2016), flushes before the scion on a few ascending branches and bole shoots. It produces no suckers.
Synonymy Ulmus campestris L. cucullata Hort. Ulmus montana cucullata: van Houttebioportal.naturalis.nl, specimen L.1586967 Ulmus scabra Mill. [:glabra Huds.] var. concavaefolia.
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