Encyclopedia
of Stanford Trees, Shrubs, and VinesEncyclopedia
of Stanford Trees, Shrubs, and Vines
Wych elm, sometimes known as 
Scotch elm, is distinguished
from English elm by having shorter leaf-stalks and larger fruits. The seed is
situated in the center of the wing and there is a notch that does not reach
the seed. The leaves are asymmetrical at the base, rough to the touch on top,
and may have three points. It is not a common tree now in these parts, but an
avenue of wych elms was planted on Museum Way in 1891. Two unimpressive specimens
are in the northeast corner of Roth Way and Palm Drive; one on Lasuen Street
between Roth Way and Museum Way; and one on Lasuen Street that may be a survivor
of the avenue on Museum Way.
The variety ‘Camperdownii’ can be found in the Canfield Court lawn near Meyer Library. About 6 feet tall in 2003 (planted February 2003), it has weeping limbs that reach to the ground. At Filoli in Woodside, Camperdown elms south of the swimming pool pavilion form a dense, high canopy. The original tree appeared as a sport of U. glabra in 1850 at Camperdown House near Dundee, Scotland.
Illustrations (links open new windows): habit |
Additions/Revisions: The two trees reported on the NE corner of Roth and Palm were removed 10/04: the larger of the two appeared to be an old tree about 25 feet tall [21 yards north of Roth and 55 yards to Palm Drive sidewalk]. The remaining Camperdown elm in Canfield Court was removed June 2008, suffering from sunscald, scales, root rot, and too much water.Name derivation, genus | species Ul'mus: the classical Latin name for the elm (ref. genus Ulmus)
Related material: Botanical
name index | Common name index | Family
Trees.Stanford.edu home