Field Elm is increasingly used by taxonomists for several closely related varieties or clones, including English Elm, once iconic before Dutch elm disease (DED) devastated it. Ulmus minor refers to Field Elm, and 'agg.' means an aggregate of related elm varieties. Once thought to be several species, DNA analyses suggest they are all genetically identical.
Native to most of north-west Europe, these varieties are also native to Britain, most likely restricted to southern regions, and archaeophytes in Ireland.
Monoecious, hermaphrodite flowers. Propagation is mostly clonal via suckers.
Mature Field Elms were once tall (45m) and narrow with domed tops, but are now mostly small trees (to 10m) and suckering hedgerow scrub. Varieties differ: English Elm has square-plated brown bark, slender corky-winged twigs and rough, crinkled, hairless-topped leaves (5-10cm); Cornish Elm has a narrow airy crown and glossy small leaves; while Plot, Smooth-leaved and Wheatley (Guernsey) Elms differ in habit, leaf gloss and margins. Fruit a winged samara notched close to the seed.
Grows best in fertile, even heavy agricultural soils. Often found in roadside hedgerows, being highly tolerant of pollution and salt-laden coastal winds. Propagated by cuttings. Light-demanding, and though tolerant of a wide range of conditions, it is less common in woodlands and better suited to hedgerows or open-grown sites.
Once important to hosts of wildlife, but now limited due to DED. Occurs naturally among broadleaves, especially Pedunculate Oak (p. xxx) and Common Ash (p. xxx) on fertile lowlands, including floodplains.
Until a natural remedy for DED is found, these elegant trees are confined to a perpetual short-lived existence reliant on clonal reproduction; dying young trees with yellowing foliage are easily spotted in hedgerows. The beetle 'galleries' left by elm bark beetles are curiously attractive when revealed under loosening bark, a central vertical gallery from the egg-laying female with side galleries from the larvae.
Elm timber was once hugely important. Field Elm has a moderately fine grain and often highly attractive figure, especially burr wood, sought by cabinet- and furniture-makers. Its durability made it common in timber framing (especially ground-set posts), shipbuilding and water pipes. Its foliage was fed to animals as fodder, and the trees were once widely grown as living supports for grapevines.
