Ulmus 'Exoniensis', theExeter elm, was discovered nearExeter,England, in 1826, and propagated by the Ford & Please nursery in that city.[1][2][3][4][5] Traditionally believed to be acultivar of the Wych ElmU. glabra, its fastigiate shape when young, upward-curving tracery, smallsamarae and leaves, late leaf-flush and late leaf-fall, taken with its south-west England provenance, suggest a link with theCornish Elm, which shares these characteristics. The seed, however, is on the stalk side of the samara, a feature of wych elm and its cultivars, whereas in hybrids it would be displaced towards the notch.[6][7]
The tree initially has an upright, columnar form,[8] but later develops a large rounded crown and occasionally reaches 17 m in height. Older specimens may develop pendulous branches.[9] Exeter Elm is chiefly distinguished by its contorted leaves, < 11 cm long by 8 cm broad, rounder than the type [wych] and with morelaciniate margins,[10][11] which occasionally wrap around the branchlets and remain thus well into winter.[12] Thesamara is narrower than type wych.[13][7] 'Exoniensis' is often pollarded to produce a denser, fan-shaped crown (see main picture).
'Exoniensis' in April
Bole of Exeter Elm
Characteristic bole-burls of Exeter elm (left), Bruntsfield Links, Edinburgh
'Exoniensis' samarae
'Exoniensis' fruiting, late April, theBrink,Betondorp, the Netherlands (2014)
Chevalier noted (1942) thatUlmus montana fastigiata (Exeter Elm) was one of four European cultivars found by researchers in The Netherlands to have significant resistance to the earlier strain ofDutch elm disease prevalent in the 1920s and '30s, the others being'Monumentalis'Rinz,'Berardii' and'Vegeta'. The four were rated less resistant thanU. foliacea clone 23, from Spain, later cultivated asU. minor 'Christine Buisman'.[14] 'Exoniensis' possesses a moderate resistance to the more virulent strain ofDutch elm disease, and consequently often featured in the Dutch elm breeding programme in association with the Field Elm (U. minor) and Himalayan Elm (U. wallichiana).[15]
Once commonly planted in the UK and parts of western Europe, notably in the Netherlands (aspluim-iep, plume-elm),[16] and in Stockholm, Sweden,[17] 'Exoniensis' is also known to have been marketed in Poland in the 19th century by the Ulrich nursery,[18]Warsaw, and remains in commerce there. TheSpäth nursery of Berlin cultivated the tree asU. montana fastigiata (U. exoniensisHort.) from the early 20th century.[19] It is possible that three trees supplied by theSpäth nursery to theRoyal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1902 asU. montana fastigiata[20] were Exeter Elm,[19] old specimens of which survive inEdinburgh (one each in Drummond Place Gardens and Lochend Park).[20] Among plantings of Exeter elm inTurku, Finland, are three old trees in front of the city hall, on the riverAura.[21][22]
'Exoniensis' is found in Australia at theBallarat Botanical Gardens where it is listed on the Significant Tree Register of the National Trust. AnUlmus plumosa (a synonym of 'Exoniensis' in continental Europe[23]), of "elegant and pyramidal shape" and "dark green foliage", appeared in the 1902 catalogue of the Bobbink and Atkins nursery,Rutherford, New Jersey.[24]
Three Exeter elms (bottom right) before the City Hall, Turku, Finland (2011)
Exeter elm (background), De Iepenhof [: elmcourt] cemetery,Hoofddorp, Netherlands (2016)[16]
Exeter elm (background), De Iepenhof cemetery, Hoofddorp (2016)
'Exoniensis' in April, theBrink,Betondorp, the Netherlands (2022)
In Sweden 'Exoniensis' is sometimes pruned from an early age to form a tidy cone-shaped tree called locally 'pyramidalm' (: pyramid elm - also one of Späth's names for 'Exoniensis').[25][26][17]
Bean (1936) noted a large old specimen, 12 feet in girth, in the garden of the Old Vicarage,Bitton, Gloucestershire.[27] The oldest in Sweden, atGustav III's Pavilion inHagaparken, had a height in 2008 of 19 m and a bole girth of 462 cm.[17] A 180-year-old specimen inHamburg has attained a height of 28 m and a trunk diameter of 1.45 m.[28] The UKTROBI Champion tree is in Scotland, atBaxter Park,Dundee, measuring 15 m high by 103 cmd.b.h. in 2004.[29] The cultivar is represented in Éire by a tree atBirr Castle (Mount Palmer),County Offaly, with ad.b.h. of 29 cm when measured in 2002.
Early slide of an Exeter Elm in the Netherlands
Old unpollarded Exeter Elm, Lochend Park, Edinburgh, showing pendulous branch
Despite being of British provenance and, at the time of writing, the only wych cultivar with any resistance to Dutch elm disease, and despite contributing to the complex hybrids above, Exeter elm did not appear in Seddon and Shreeve'sGreat British Elms (Kew, 2024).[33]
Brighton & Hove City Council, UK.NCCPG Elm Collection.[35] A number of trees, large specimens atStanmer Park Arboretum (1), Linkway Lodge, Hollingdean (40+), University of Sussex (3) and Whitehawk Way (2).
^Heybroek, H.M. (1993)."The Dutch Elm Breeding Program". In Sticklen, Mariam B.; Sherald, James L. (eds.).Dutch Elm Disease Research. New York, USA: Springer-Verlag. pp. 16–25.ISBN978-1-4615-6874-2. Retrieved26 October 2017.
^Santini A., Fagnani A., Ferrini F. & Mittempergher L., (2002) 'San Zanobi' and 'Plinio' elm trees.[3]Archived 26 January 2004 at theWayback MachineHortScience 37(7): 1139–1141. 2002. American Society for Horticultural Science, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA.
^Santini A., Fagnani A., Ferrini F., Mittempergher L., Brunetti M., Crivellaro A., Macchioni N., Elm breeding for DED resistance, the Italian clones and their wood properties.[4]Archived 26 October 2007 at theWayback MachineInvest Agrar: Sist. Recur. For. (2004) 13 (1), 179–184. 2004
^Mark Seddon and David Shreeve,Great British Elms (Kew Gardens, 2024)
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