| Ulmus × hollandica 'Commelin' | |
|---|---|
 'Commelin' Uithuizermeeden, Netherlands. | |
| Hybrid parentage | U. ×hollandica 'Vegeta' ×U. minor |
| Cultivar | 'Commelin' |
| Origin | Baarn, The Netherlands |
Ulmus ×hollandica 'Commelin' is a Dutchhybridcultivar released for sale in 1960. The tree was raised atBaarn as clone 274 by the Foundation Willie Commelin Scholten Phytopathological Laboratory[1] in 1940, from a crossing ofUlmus × hollandica 'Vegeta' and clone 1, anUlmus minor selected from a 1929 elm seedlings lot obtained from theBarbier nursery,Orléans.
A fast-growing, attractively shaped tree distinguished by its small pale-green leaves with bright venation and a slight blue-grey color distinction from ‘Vegeta’. The leaf shape is typicallyelliptic, with a short acuminate apex.[1][2] The leaves are sparsely arranged and fall significantly later than those of 'Vegeta'.[3][4]
Although resistant to the original strain of Dutch elm disease,Ophiostoma ulmi and a range of other ailments, 'Commelin' proved very susceptible to the later, aggressive strainOphiostoma novo-ulmi subsp.americana.
'Commelin' initially enjoyed considerable commercial success and over 500,000 had been sold by 1974. However, the tree had only been screened for non-aggressive or semi-aggressive isolates of the causal fungus of Dutch elm disease. When its low resistance to the new strain of the disease became apparent, sales plummeted, and only 500 were sold in 1990.[5][6] However, neither 'Commelin' nor its slightly less vulnerable contemporary'Groeneveld' had sold in great numbers beyond the Netherlands, although it was later used in hybridization experiments in the United States as female parent of several cultivars.
The UKTROBI Champion is at Ashton Rise inBrighton, measuring 22 m high by 55 cmd.b.h. in 2009.[7]
The cultivar is named forJan Commelin, a Dutch botanist of the 17th century.