Ulmus parvifolia
| Ulmus parvifolia | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 59' |
| Width: | 59' |
| Speed: | Moderate |
| Blooms: | Early Fall-Mid Fall |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Ulmus parvifolia (common name: chinese elm)
Propagation: Seed - if sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe, it usually germinates within a few days[1]. Stored seed does not germinate so well and should be sown in early spring[1]. One to two months stratification can improve germination rates. The seed can also be harvested 'green' (when it has fully developed but before it dries on the tree) and sown immediately in a cold frame. It should germinate very quickly and will produce a larger plant by the end of the growing season[2]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Plants should not be allowed to grow for more than two years in a nursery bed since they form a tap root and will then move badly.
Layering of suckers or coppiced shoots[1].
Cultivation: Easily grown in any soil of at least moderate quality so long as it is well drained[3]. Fairly tolerant of maritime exposure, it succeeds outdoors in a very exposed position at Rosewarne in N. Cornwall[K].
Resistant to 'Dutch elm disease', a disease that has destroyed the greater part of all the elm trees growing in Britain. The disease is spread by a beetle. There is no effective cure (1992) for the problem, but most E. Asian, though not Himalayan, species are resistant (though not immune) to the disease so the potential exists to use these resistant species to develop new resistant hybrids with the native species[1].
The various species hybridize freely, the pollen stores well and can be kept for use with species that flower at different times[1].
Trees retain their leaves until early in the new year[4] and in areas with mild winters will often retain them until new leaves are formed in the spring[5].
A good companion for grapes[6].
There are some named forms, developed for their ornamental value. 'Frosty' and 'Geisha' are small bushes whilst 'Pumila' is a minute bush for the rock garden.
Range: E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.
Habitat: Rich soil and near water courses in W. China[7] at elevations below 800 metres[8]..
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked[9][10].
Immature fruits, used just after they are formed - raw or cooked[9][11]. An aromatic, unusual flavour, leaving the mouth feeling fresh and the breath smelling pleasant[11]. It contains about 34.4% protein, 28.2% fat, 17% carbohydrate, 5% ash[11].
Inner bark - cooked. A mucilaginous texture[9][10]. No more details are given but inner bark is often dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickening in soups etc or mixed with cereals when making bread[K].
Medicinal: The leaves are antidote and lithontripic[12].
The stem bark is demulcent, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, hypnotic and lithontripic[13][12].
The flowers are used in the treatment of fevers and neuritis[12].
Usage: Fairly resistant to maritime exposure, it can be grown in a shelter belt[K].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates maritime wind exposure
In Leaf: Early Spring-Mid Winter
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall-Late Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: U. chinensis.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ McMillan-Browse, Philip. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books, 1985.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Philbrick, Helen and Richard Gregg. Companion Plants. Watkins, 1979.
- ↑ Wilson, Ernest and Charles Sargent. Plantae Wilsonianae.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Corbetta, Francisco. The COmplete Book of Fruits and Vegetables. 1985.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.