Columella (plant)
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A Dutch cultivar raised at Wageningen, Columella was derived from a selfed seedling of the hybrid 'Plantyn' sown in 1967. It was released for sale in 1989 after proving to be the first Dutch clone immune to Dutch elm disease after inoculation with unnaturally high doses of the Ophiostoma novo-ulmi fungus.
Columella makes a tall, fastigiate tree with very upright branches, but broadens in later years[1]. The rough, rounded, leaves, < 7 cm long, broadly resemble those of English Elm, and are arranged in asymmetric clusters on short branchlets. Wind resistant, the tree has been planted throughout the Netherlands, where its columnar shape has made it popular as a street tree.
In trials conducted by Butterfly Conservation in southern Hampshire, England, the trees became distressed during summer drought where planted on well drained soils, often shedding much of their foliage. The same trees first flowered aged 8 years, in March; the resultant seeds were found to have a moderate viability.
Columella is only available in the UK by special order from wholesale nurseries importing trees from the Netherlands. The tree is not known (2006) to have been introduced to North America, but featured in New Zealand government trials in the 1990s.
The hybrid is named for the Roman agronomist Columella, who introduced the Atinian elm (now more commonly known as the English Elm) to Spain from Italy circa AD 50.
[edit] References
- Brookes, A. H. (2006). An evaluation of disease-resistant hybrid and exotic elms as larval host plants for the White-letter Hairstreak butterfly Satyrium w-album, Part 1. Butterfly Conservation, Lulworth, UK.
- Heybroek, H. (1993). The Dutch Elm Breeding Program. In Sticklen & Sherald (Eds.)(1993). Dutch Elm Disease Research, Chapter 3. Springer Verlag, New York, USA
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