The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Biltii' was selected by Bernard Groenewegen en Zoon (Groenewegen & Son) at his nursery in de Bilt, Netherlands, possibly from French seedlings, and identified in his catalogue of 1921–22 as U. campestris Biltii.[1] Green (1964) confirmed the field elm identification.[1]
| Ulmus minor 'Biltii' | |
|---|---|
| Species | Ulmus minor |
| Cultivar | 'Biltii' |
| Origin | de Bilt, Netherlands |
Description
edit'Biltii' has a compact, pyramidal crown, not unlike the Cornish Elm, with crowded, dark green and nearly round leaves. The tips of the younger shoots are tinged purplish-bronze, contrasting with the yellowish-green emergent leaves.[1][2]
Cultivation
editNo specimens are known to survive. In 2025 Brighton and Hove City Council listed an elm in Benfield Way, Hove, by this name, without provenance information,[3] though its less rounded leaves have more vein-pairs and longer petioles than the 1955 'Biltii' herbarium specimen from Lombarts Nurseries, Zundert.[2]
Benfield Way elm
Benfield Way leaves, long shoot
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Synonymy
edit- Ulmus campestris 'Biltil': Pierre Lombarts' Royal Nurseries (Zundert, Netherlands) catalogue of 1959-60, p. 83. Misspelling.
References
edit- 1 2 3 Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. 24 (6–8). Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University: 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- 1 2 "Herbarium specimen - L.1587211". Botany catalogues. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. 'Biltii' short-shoot and long-shoot leaves specimen (sheet mis-labelled "U. carpinifolia hiltii"), from Lombarts Nurseries, Zundert, the Netherlands (1955)
- ↑ 'Rare elms in the spotlight for Sussex Tree Festival', 11 June 2025