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Ulmus_davidiana - Planch.

Common Name Japanese Elm
Family Ulmaceae
USDA hardiness 4-8
Known Hazards None known
Habitats Slopes, wetlands near streams and valleys at elevations of 2000 - 2300 metres[266].
Range E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.
Edibility Rating    (2 of 5)
Other Uses    (1 of 5)
Weed Potential No
Medicinal Rating    (0 of 5)
Care (info)
Fully Hardy Moist Soil Semi-shade Full sun
Ulmus_davidiana Japanese Elm


Ulmus_davidiana Japanese Elm

 

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Summary


Physical Characteristics

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Ulmus_davidiana is a deciduous Tree growing to 15 m (49ft 3in).
See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen from May to June. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Wind.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

UK Hardiness Map US Hardiness Map

Synonyms

Plant Habitats

Edible Uses

Leaves - raw or cooked[105, 177]. Young fruits - cooked[105, 177]. Inner bark - dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in soups or added to cereal flours when making bread etc[105, 177].

References   More on Edible Uses

Medicinal Uses

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None known

References   More on Medicinal Uses

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Other Uses

A fibre is obtained from the inner bark[189]. The bark is soaked for 7 - 10 days in water, the inner and outer barks are then separated and the inner bark is stripped into strands and made into thread by chewing it. It is made into a coarse fabric[189]. Wood - heavy, difficult to work. Used for axles, hubs etc[46, 61].

Special Uses

References   More on Other Uses

Cultivation details

Prefers a fertile soil in full sun[188], but it is easily grown in any soil of at least moderate quality so long as it is well drained[1]. This species is 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 means of beetles. 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[200]. The various species of this genus hybridize freely with each other and pollen is easily saved, so even those species with different flowering times can be hybridized[200]. Closely related to U. japonica[200].

References   Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information

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Plant Propagation

Seed - if sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe, it usually germinates within a few days[200]. Stored seed does not germinate so well and should be sown in early spring[200]. 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[80]. 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[200].

Other Names

If available other names are mentioned here

Native Range

TEMPERATE ASIA: Russian Federation (Buryatia, Chita), Mongolia, Russian Federation (Primorye, Amur, Sakhalin), China (Anhui Sheng, Zhejiang Sheng, Heilongjiang Sheng, Henan Sheng, Hebei Sheng, Hubei Sheng, Gansu Sheng, Jilin Sheng, Liaoning Sheng, Shanxi Sheng, Shandong Sheng, Shaanxi Sheng, Qinghai Sheng (east), Nei Mongol Zizhiqu, Ningxia Huizi Zizhiqu), Korea, Japan (Hokkaidô, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku)

Weed Potential

Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section. Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status :

Related Plants
Latin NameCommon NameHabitHeightHardinessGrowthSoilShadeMoistureEdibleMedicinalOther
Ulmus davidianaJapanese ElmTree15.0 4-8  LMHSNM201

Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.

 

Expert comment

Author

Planch.

Botanical References

11200266

Links / References

For a list of references used on this page please go here

Readers comment

   Wed Apr 21 17:42:21 2004

Trees or shrubs, to 15 m tall, d.b.h. to 30 cm, deciduous. Bark longitudinally fissured. Branchlets pubescent when young, glabrescent or ± pubescent, sometimes with irregularly longitudinally fissured corky layer. Winter buds ovoid; bud scales partly pubescent. Petiole 5-10(-17) mm, pubescent; leaf blade obovate to obovate-elliptic, 4-9(-10) × 1.5-4(-5.5) cm, abaxially densely pubescent when young but glabrescent with tufted hairs only in axil of veins, adaxially sparsely hirsute when young but glabrescent, base oblique, margin doubly serrate, apex caudate-acuminate to acuminate; secondary veins 12-22 on each side of midvein. Inflorescences fascicled cymes on second year branchlets. Perianth glabrous, 4-lobed. Samaras tan, obovate to ± obovate, 1-1.9 × 0.7-1.4 cm; stalk pubescent, ca. 2 mm; wings usually glabrous. Seed toward apex and in center of samara.

Slopes, wetlands near streams, valleys; below 2300 m. Anhui, Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, E Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Zhejiang [Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia (Far East, E Siberia)].

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