Ulmus laciniata
a perennial woody deciduous member of the Ulmus genus in the family Ulmaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
Uses
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Leaves - raw or cooked. Inner bark - cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in soups or added to cereal flours when making bread etc[2][4].
- Plant part
- Inner bark
- Plant part
- Leaves
Material uses
- Product or use
- Wood
Ecology and functions
- Ecosystem niche
- Canopy, Secondary canopy
Environment
- Range
- E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.
- Habitat
- Temperate forests all over Japan[7].
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 5+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - if sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe, it usually germinates within a few days[6]. Stored seed does not germinate so well and should be sown in early spring[6]. 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[8]. 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[6].
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Prefers a fertile soil in full sun[5], but is easily grown in any soil of at least moderate quality so long as it is well drained[1]. Closely related to U. glabra[3]. 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[6]. 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[6].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00
Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981-00-00
Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169
Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965-00-00
McMillan-Browse. P. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-901361-21-6