Ulmus 'Karagatch'

Ulmus 'Karagatch' is a hybrid cultivar from Turkestan (from a region now part of Turkmenistan), selected in the early 20th century and considered either a backcrossing of U. × androssowii and U. pumila, or simply a cultivar of × androssowii. It was grown from seeds, introduced from Bairam Ali in Russian Turkestan by Arthur P. Davis in the 1930s, as U. 'Karagatch', under which name it was planted at Kew.^[1][2]

Ulmus 'Karagatch'
'Karagatch' at Kew Gardens, 2007
Genus	Ulmus
Hybrid parentage	U. pumila × U. 'Androssowii'?
Cultivar	'Karagatch'
Origin	Kazakhstan

Description

The Kew specimen had the appearance of a northern European field elm, more tall than broad.^[1] 'Karagatch' was described by the US Department of Agriculture (1917) as a "rapid-growing elm", suitable for semi-arid regions, with harder wood than that of American Elm.^[2]

• 
  'Karagatch' at Kew Gardens, 1990^[3]

Pests and diseases

No information available.

Cultivation

'Karagatch' was present at Kew and in The Hague from the early 1930s.^[3] The Kew specimen was felled in 2015 as 'unsafe'. It was cloned and remains in cultivation (see 'Accessions').

Etymology

The name 'karagatch' (:'black tree' in the Turkic languages, widely used for 'elm') has historically also been applied to U. minor 'Umbraculifera' (syn. U. densa) from the same region , and more loosely to field elm found in Turkey and to U. pumila found in Mongolia.^[4]

Accessions

North America

• Morton Arboretum, US. As Ulmus × androssowii × U. pumila hybrid. Acc. no. 353–72

Europe

• Grange Farm Arboretum, Lincolnshire, UK. Acc. details not known.
• Wijdemeren City Council, Netherlands. Elm collection, ‘s-Gravelandsevaartweg, Loosdrecht, five trees planted 2016