nature
What hope
for the
ThemightyWych
magnificent
Elmhasbeenoneof
thegreaticonsofthe
Elm?
Scottishlandscape
sincetheendofthe
WORDS: ANDREW BROOKES
lastIceAge.Atrue
mountaintree,its
veryclosecousinoftheWych.Released
aftermorethan20years’exhaustive
naturalrangetoday
researchbytheFrenchINRA(National
InstituteforAgriculturalResearch)in2002, extendsnorthofthe
LutécehasprovenimmunetoDEDandis
nowavailableintheUK.Over5,000trees
ArcticCirclein
havebeenplantedontheIsleofWight,and
inSwedenithasprovenhardyin
Norway.Butitwasin
temperaturesaslowas–30°Celsius.
themoretemperate
Anothertree,aspeciesnotacultivar,
deservesspecialmention;theEuropean
Scotlandthatit
WhiteElm(Ulmuslaevis).Superficially
similarinsizeandshapetotheWychElm,
flourished,forming
withitswide-spreadingbranchesandbroad
crown,itisananomalyamongelms.Itdoes vastforests.The
nothaveaninnateresistancetoDED,rather
itiseschewedbythebarkbeetlesowingto
nameLochLomond
A
las,however,theWychElm(Ulmus thepresenceofanorganiccompound,a
glabra)haslittleresistancetoDutch triterpenenamed‘Alnulin’which,although
isacorruptionofthe
ElmDisease(DED),andasglobalwarming nottoxic,actsasanantifeedant.
Gaelic‘LacLeaman’
encouragesthebarkbeetleswhichspread ConsequentlythousandsofancientWhite
thediseasetomigrateevernorthwards, ElmssurviveacrossEurope.Essentiallya
or‘LakeoftheElms.’
Scotland’streeswouldseemdoomed.DED ripariantree,itisalsotheonlyelmtolerant
reachedEdinburghin2000andInvernessin ofprolongedwaterloggedsoilsinwinter.
Indeed,thetreeis
2006.Onceinfected,deathisinevitable. Thelargest-girthedWychElmintheUK
Sadly,oneofthecharacteristicsoftheWych growsinanareaofhistoricparklandonthe
stillknown
Elmisitslackofgeneticdiversity,andthus BrahanEstatenearMaryburghinEaster
thechancesofatrulydisease-resistanttree Ross.Plantedin1735,ithasad.b.h.
commonlyasthe
evolvingnaturallyareremote. (diameteratbreastheight)of243cmanda
Sowhatcanbedone?EnglishElms girthofover8metres.Itreachedaheightof
‘ScotsElm’insome
geneticallymodifiedtoresistdiseasewere 25.6metres(84feet)in2002andisafine,
partsoftheworld,
successfullyraisedatAbertayUniversityin open-grownspecimenstillenjoyinggood
Dundee,butsuchisthehostilitytoGM health,despiteitsexposedlocation.
notablytheUSA.
plants,thisisunlikelytobeafruitfulpathto Theelmmakesnotonlyanaesthetic
follow.Morepromisingarethecomplex contributiontothecountryside.Itisknown
WychElmhybridsraisedintheDutchElm tosupport124speciesofinvertebrateand
Top: Wych Elm leaf close-up. (Padraig McKenna)
breedingprogrammeinthe1980s,notably 200speciesoflichen.InEngland,itisthe Middle: The 274 year old Brahan Elm. (Andrew Matheson)
thecloneLutéce.TheLutécevarietyhasa solehostplantoftherareWhite-letter Right: Wych Elm in Edinburgh. (Max Coleman)
complexancestry,comprisingthreeWych Hairstreakbutterfly.Alreadyresidentin
Elms,fourFieldElms(Ulmusminor)anda CountyDurham,howlongbeforethe
HimalayanElm(Ulmuswallichiana),itselfa butterflyarrivesinScotland? a73
the north magazine 31
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