Ulmus minor subsp. canescens

Ulmus minor subsp. canescens is a small deciduous tree occasionally known by the common names grey elm, grey-leafed elm, and hoary elm. Its natural range extends through the lands of the central and eastern Mediterranean, from southern Italy,^[2] the islands of Sicily,^[3] Malta,^[4] Crete,^[5] Rhodes^[6] and Cyprus, and through Thrace^[7] to Turkey,^[8][9] and as far south as Israel, where it is now considered rare and endangered in the wild.^[10] The tree is typically found amidst the comparatively humid coastal woodlands and scrublands.

Ulmus minor subsp. canescens
Ulmus minor subsp. canescens in Akamas Botanical Garden, Cyprus (2017)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Ulmaceae
Genus:	Ulmus
Species:	U. minor
Subspecies:	U. m. subsp. canescens
Trinomial name
Ulmus minor subsp. canescens (Melville) Browicz & Ziel.
Synonyms
Ulmus campestris var. dalmatica Bald.[1] Ulmus canescens Melville

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of the tree remains a matter of contention; Melville originally treated the tree as a species in its own right, U. canescens,^[11] while others, notably Richens, and Browicz & Ziel., sank it as a subspecies of Ulmus minor.^[12][13]

Description

The tree is comparatively small, < 20 m high; the slender trunk, its bark coarsely fissured, supporting a rounded crown. The leaves are elliptic to ovate, bluntly toothed, and densely downy on the underside when mature, imbuing them with a distinctive greyish hue.^[9] The young shoots also have a whitish-grey down.^[4] The tree flowers in February and March, the round samarae, < 15 mm diameter, deeply notched at the outer end, ripen in April.^[14][15]

• 
  Bark and young leaves, Antal Ben Shaddad, Jerusalem
• 
  Samarae, Plain of Esdraelon, Israel
• 
  Samarae, Akamas Botanical Garden, Cyprus
• 
  Bark, Akamas Botanical Garden, Cyprus
• 
  New leaves of same

Pests and diseases

Ulmus minor subsp. canescens is highly susceptible to Dutch elm disease.

Cultivation

Ulmus minor subsp. canescens is occasionally planted as a street tree in Israel, notably in Jerusalem near the Damascus Gate along the Prophets Road and Antal Ben Shaddad street. In Nazareth, a line of mature trees is found along the road leading to the Basilica. It is also planted in Jordan, especially Amman. ^{[citation needed]} There are no known cultivars of this taxon, nor is it known to be in commerce.

Accessions

North America

• Morton Arboretum, US. Acc. no. 395-76

Europe

• Akamas Botanical Garden, Cyprus. Acc. details not known.
• Grange Farm Arboretum, Sutton St James, Spalding, Lincs., UK. Acc. no. 826.
• Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK. Labelled Ulmus canescens. Acc. no. 20090690. From seed wild collected in Israel. (2017).^[16]
• Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Romsey, UK. Acc. no. 2009.0334. From seed wild collected in Israel.