Ulmus Minor Subsp. Sarniensis

Ulmus Minor Subsp. Sarniensis

Ulmus minor subsp. sarniensis, known variously as Guernsey Elm, Jersey Elm, Wheatley Elm, or Southampton Elm, once enjoyed much popularity in Britain, where it was widely cultivated for street planting. However the Dutch elm disease pandemic has now destroyed all the mature trees in the UK save a few in Preston Park, Brighton and Peasholm Park, Scarborough. About a hundred mature specimens survive in Edinburgh (2012).

The origin of the tree remains obscure. R. H. Richens believed the tree "a mutant of a French population of Field elm", noting that "elms of similar leaf-form occur in Cotentin and in northern Brittany. They vary much in habit but some have a tendency to pyramidal growth. Whether the distinctive habit first developed on the mainland or in Guernsey is uncertain."