Ulmus procera ‘Louis van Houtte’
Planted extensively in gardens, parks and farms through out New Zealand, this golden form of the English elm never reaches the stature of its green parent, which can grow as tall as 45 metres. Decimated now in England by Dutch elm disease, they were once the glory of the English countryside, evoking nostalgia in the heart of many an Englishman or woman. Constable was constantly trying to capture the beauty of the elm in his paintings, although it is said his oaks were better than his elms! And in 1845 Robert Browning, in ‘Home Thoughts from Abroad’, wrote:
Oh, to be in England,
Now that April’s there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some mornings, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England – now!
We may doubt that our prevalent, rather garish, yellow variety will evoke such longing in the hearts of New Zealanders, but next October take a moment to sit under the specimen growing close to the clock tower in Victoria Street. It may not be tall but the spread of its branches is magnificent, and viewed from beneath in the late spring, before its leaves have yellowed, it forms a beautiful light green shade canopy, most calming to the soul.
We do have some examples of the true English elm; go to Te Ko Utu park where you can see a number of mutilated specimens on the bank. No doubt our Council staff, concerned with the tree’s reputation as the ‘widow-maker’ as it drops big branches without warning, would prefer the following jingle:
Elm hateth man
And waiteth.
Is there a connection here with the fact that elm is the traditional wood for coffins?
