Ulmus × hollandica 'Belgica'
'Belgica', Amsterdam (2004)
Hybrid parentage	U. glabra ×U. minor
Cultivar	'Belgica'
Origin	Belgium

Thehybrid elmcultivarUlmus × hollandica 'Belgica', one of a number of hybrids arising from the crossing ofWych Elm (Ulmus glabra) with a variety ofField Elm (Ulmus minor), was reputedly raised in the nurseries of theAbbey of the Dunes (Abdij Ten Duinen),Veurne (later removed toBruges), in 1694.^[1] Popular throughout Belgium and the Netherlands in the 19th century both as an ornamental and as a shelter-belt tree,^[2][3] it wasthe 'Hollandse iep' (:'Dutch elm') in these countries, as distinct from the tree known as 'Dutch Elm' in Great Britain and Ireland since the 17th century:Ulmus × hollandica 'Major'.^[3] InFrancophone Belgium it was known asorme gras de Malines.^[2]

'Belgica' arose in the same hybridization zone that produced'Ypreau' (possibly synonymous with'Major'),'Klemmer' and'Dumont', among other elm cultivars.^[4]

'Belgica' has a broad crown supported by a straight, rough-barked stem. Unusually thriving on poor sandy soils, it proved one of the fastest-growing elms in Europe, typically achieving heights of < 40 m. Theobovate toelliptic leaves are < 12 cm long by 5 cm wide, and terminate at the apex as a long, serrated point.^[5] The seed is towards the notch of thesamara.^[6] 'Belgica' was prized, among other reasons, for its "ease and grace of twigs and foliage".^[7]

• 
  'Belgica' avenue in the Netherlands (2007)
• 
  Bole of 'Belgica'
• 
  'Belgica' leaves

Very susceptible toDutch elm disease, it was the loss of this particular elm more than any other to the earlier strain of the disease which initiated the Dutch elm breeding programme in 1928.^[8] In trials of Dutch clones, past and present, conducted at Wageningen in 2008 and 2009, 'Belgica' exhibited 89% defoliation eight weeks after injection.^[9]'Belgica' is also very vulnerable toverticillium wilt.^[10]

Usually propagated byground layering, as itsuckers only sparsely if at all,^[2][11] 'Belgica' was planted in great numbers along roads, streets and canals in the Netherlands,^[12] and also in squares, parks and gardens.^[13] Its popularity and its aesthetic qualities are evidenced in photographic records of the Netherlands from the late 19th century to c.1920.^[14][15] It is still present in there in smaller numbers.^[16] 'Belgica's "rapid growth even on poor soils and its good resistance to wind and atmospheric pollution" made it an ideal choice for shelter-belt planting.^[17]

TheSpäth nursery of Berlin supplied anU. montana [× hollandica]belgica to theDominion Arboretum,Ottawa,Canada in 1896,^[18] and one to theRoyal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1902.^[19] In the UK a 'Belgica', "Belgian Elm, a popular continental street tree", was supplied by Hillier & Sons,Winchester, Hampshire, in the mid-20th century, the nursery givingUlmus ×hollandica 'Latifolia' as a synonym.^[20]U. Belgica, 'Belgian Elm', "of rapid growth and fine spreading shape", appears from the 1870s in the catalogues of the Mount Hope Nursery (also known asEllwanger andBarry) ofRochester, New York,^[21] and later in the catalogues of Kelsey's, New York.^[22] The cultivar has been introduced to arboreta inNorth America (see under Accessions). Young specimens were said to be "flourishing" inArnold Arboretum in 1915.^[23] There is no record of its introduction to Australasia.

• 
  'Belgica',Heerengracht, Amsterdam (1902)
• 
  'Belgica' nearRochefort, Belgium (1904), 9 feet (2.7 m) in girth at 48 years^{[2]: p.1871}
• 
  'Belgica' avenue, the Netherlands
• 
  'Belgica', Kampernieuwstad, the Netherlands (1968)
• 
  Rooted 'Belgica' cuttings
• 
  'Belgica' avenue near Vlamertinghe, September 1916
• 
  'Belgica' avenue near Ypres, 1917
• 
  Survivors of aBelgicalaan [:'Belgica' lane], nearBalloo,Drenthe (2007)

The Oudemanhuispoort 'Belgica' in Amsterdam, planted in 1895, is the largest elm in the Netherlands, with a height of 34.6 m and a girth of 4.4 m.^[24] The UKTROBI champion tree grows at Dyke Park Road inBrighton, measuring 17 m high by 92 cmd.b.h. in 2009, one of nine trees forming part of theNCCPG Collection (see under Accessions).

• 
  The 120 year-old 'Belgica' outside theHortus Botanicus, Amsterdam (2019), felled by a storm in 2023.^[25]
• 
  Same, 2001
• 
  French pilot saved by three 'Belgica', 1915

The columnar boles, high-arching branches and graceful foliage of 'Belgica' elms ('Hollandse iepen') beside canals and streets in the Netherlands are celebrated in many of the paintings and drawings of the Dutch artistKarel Klinkenberg (1852–1924).^[26]

• Ulmus batavina:Koch,Dendrologie; Bäume, Sträucher und Halbsträucher, welche in Mittel- und Nord- Europa im Freien kultivirt werden 2 (1): 414 1872.
• Ulmus belgica:Weston,The English flora 46. 1775.
• Ulmus campestris (: minor) bataviana: Simon-Louis,Metz, France. Catalogue, 1869.
• Ulmus montana var.belgica: Späth list, 1902^[27]
• Ulmus × hollandica var.belgica

• 'Den Haag' (Ulmus pumila ×Ulmus × hollandica 'Belgica'), raised in the Netherlands in 1936.

An unnamed cultivar of the same parentage stood in Zuiderpark, The Hague, in the mid-20th century.^[28][29]

Augustine Henry considered the once widely planted elm cultivarU. ×hollandica 'Dumont' to be a variety of 'Belgica', calling itUlmus belgica var.Dumontii.^[30]

North America

• Arnold Arboretum, US. Acc. no. 322–81
• Longwood Gardens, US. Acc. no. 1967–0877
• Morton Arboretum, US. Acc. no. 1457–24

Europe

• Brighton & Hove City Council, UK.NCCPG Elm Collection.^[31] Examples planted at Dudeney Lodge, Dyke Road Park and Donald Hall Road.
• Grange Farm Arboretum,Lincolnshire, UK. Acc. no. 1145.
• Wijdemeren city council, Netherlands. Elm collection, five trees planted 2018 ‘s-Gravelandsevaartweg, Loosdrecht

• Coles Nurseries[8]Archived 2012-04-16 at theWayback Machine,Thurnby,Leicester, UK.
• Noordplant[9],Glimmen, Netherlands.

• noordplant.nl,Ulmus ×hollandica 'Belgica'

• Dutch elm cultivar
• Ulmus

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