Details for: Ames 33357, Ulmus thomasii Sarg., JDC/UT/2016/018/733


Summary Data
Taxonomy:
Ulmus thomasii Sarg.
Top Name:
JDC/UT/2016/018/733
Origin:
Collected – Iowa, United States
Received by NPGS:
03 Jun 2016
Improvement Status:
Wild material
Reproductive Uniformity:

Population
Form Received:
Seed
Life Cycle:
Perennial
Life Habit:
Tree
Availability
FormQuantityNoteInventoryCart
Cutting5 countAmes 33357 16ncaim1 PL
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SEED

Core Passport Data
Taxonomy:
Ulmus thomasii Sarg.
Top Name:
JDC/UT/2016/018/733
Origin:
Collected – Iowa, United States
Received by NPGS:
03 Jun 2016
Improvement Status:
Wild material
Reproductive Uniformity:

Population
Form Received:
Seed
Life Cycle:
Perennial
Life Habit:
Tree
Source History
Collected
03 June 2016.
Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States
Locality: Malanaphy Springs State Preserve just northwest of Decorah, T99N R8W SW ¼ NW ¼ SE ¼ Sec. 31
Coordinates: 43.3471, -91.8384 (Map it)
Elevation: 302m.
Georeference protocol: Lat/lon determined by GPS
Habitat: Wild Habitat
Environment description: Deciduous woods. Rocky substrate. 20 degree northwest-facing slope
Associated species: Euonymus atropurpureaus, Acer saccharum, Staphylea trifolia, Asarum canadense, Sambucus canadensis, Ulmus americana, Populus deltoides, Acer negundo, Urtica dioica, Celtis occidentalis, Taxus canadensis, and Populus grandidentata.
Comment: Noted approximately 8-10 specimens with minimal to no "wings" on stems. Fruits actively dropping at time of collection. Majority of fruits were consumed both in the tree and on the ground. Would estimate predation close to 90%. Fruits were collected off the ground or while suspended on leaves near ground level. Unknown the number of specimens sampled as fruits were collected along circa 100 foot linear path.
Collector(s):
Donated
03 June 2016.
Iowa, United States

Donor(s):
Accession Names and Identifiers
JDC/UT/2016/018/733
Type: Collector identifier
Carstens, Jeffrey D. USDA, ARS, NCRPIS

Ames 33357
Type: Site identifier
Group: AMES
NC-7 Research Numbers

NA 84777
Type: Site identifier
Group: NA
U.S. National Arboretum

Narrative
Ulmus thomasii (Rock elm) is an underutilized tree species both in conservation and in the urban landscape. Charles Sprague Sargent (first director of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston, MA) described the wood of Rock Elm as "heavy, hard, very strong and tough, closely grained, and susceptible of receiving a beautiful polish". Historically noted for a variety of uses in woodworking including furniture, heavy agricultural implements, timber frame buildings, pianos, hockey sticks, and hand tools. U. thomasii is extremely drought tolerant, adaptable to very calcareous soils, and compared to U. americana or U. rubra has a very conservative growth rate requiring minimal attention in regards to pruning. Rock elm naturally tends to develop into a nice structural specimen in the landscape, unlike other fast growing U. americana cultivars in the nursery trade needing frequent attention. Rock elm has very fissured bark and is well known for maintaining a strong central leader resulting in a very attractive, pyramidal form. Despite many literature sources stating that "wings" on the stems are a key identifiying characteristic, this trait is not reliable and many genotypes may completely lack "wings" on the stems. While growth habit and morphology of dormant buds (very pointy) are good traits to help aid in identification, fruits are the best way to confirm identity. Fruits are densly pubescent, often described as "inflated" and generally reach maturity a couple weeks after U. rubra and U. americana. U. thomasii flowering in central Iowa typically occurs the last week in April into the first week in May and are rather distinguishable from other Ulmus in being pendulous. Fruits are extremely prized treats for many birds, where fruits are often "robbed" prior to full maturity. Fruits are also highly prized by many other animals such as mice, squirrels, chipmunks, turkeys, etc. and are generally consumed within hours after fruit abscission. The native range of U. thomasii is concentrated in the northeastern United States and into Canada with disjunct populations documented in northwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas (Little, E. L. Jr. 1971). In the 1895 Silva of North America (vol. 7) it was stated that, “The value of the wood of the Rock Elm threatens its extinction and most of the large trees have already been cut.” Today, since rock elm is rather rare, especially in areas near the edges of its range, many states list the species as endangered or threatened warranting preservation efforts. This accession represents genetics from northeast Iowa (Winneshiek County). In an assessment of some of the largest Ulmus thomasii (native and cultivated) across Iowa, four of the nine largest specimens in Iowa are present in Malanaphy Springs State Preserve where this accession was sampled. The second largest U. thomasii in the state located in Malanaphy Springs was measured on 22 May 2020 with a circumference of 6.42', height of 86.58', and an average crown spread of 68.00' (180 points) (Rouw, M., personal communication, 8 February 2021).
Ulmus thomasii Sarg.
Genus:
Ulmus
Subgenus:
Oreoptelea
Section:
Trichoptelea
Family:
Ulmaceae
Nomen number:

101705
Place of publication:

Silva 14:102. 1902 "thomasi"
Verified:
05/06/2009 by ARS Systematic Botanists.
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Ulmus racemosa D. Thomas

Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
Englishcork elm  1Voss, E. 1972-. Michigan flora.
Englishrock elm  1Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Frenchorme de Thomas  2FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
GermanFelsenulme  2Encke, F. et al. 1993. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 14. Auflage
Swedishklippalm  2Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Annotations
Other Links
Actions
Pathogens
Vouchers
Herbarium specimen
Citations
  • Little, E. L. Jr. 1971. Atlas of United States trees. Volume 1. Conifers and important hardwoods. Misc. Publ. 1146. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 320p. Note: E. L. Little Jr. Range map for Ulmus thomasii. Number of accessions cited: 0
  • Miller, F. & G. Ware. 2022. Relative resistance of Ulmaceae for host susceptibility, feeding preference, and suitability for the adult beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). J. Environm. Hort. 40(2):46-66. DOI: 10.24266/2573-5586-40.2.46. Note: Reference to U. thomasii and not specifically to Ames 33357. Results of no-choice feeding bioassays determined adult Japanese beetles feeding on North American elms of U. alata and U. americana removed nearly twice as much leaf tissue in comparison to U. thomasii (Table 2). Collectively, for the 45 other Ulmus taxa or cultivars tested, only 10 had less feeding than U. thomasii (Table 2). Percent field defoliation survey results (Table 4) coincided with no-choice laboratory tests. No-choice fecundity bioassays (Table 7) concluded that very few (1) Japanese beetle eggs were laid on U. thomasii. Number of accessions cited: 3
  • Norris, W. R. 1999. Floristic Inventory of Malanaphy Springs State Preserve, Winneshiek County Iowa. Other miscellaneous document Note: Iowa Department of Natural Resources Internal Documentation Number of accessions cited: 1
  • Pruka, B. 2016. Ulmus thomasii: The hard elm that's hard to find. Arnoldia (Jamaica Plain) 74(1):28. Number of accessions cited: 4
  • Scholz, H. F. 1957. Silvical characteristics of Rock Elm Ulmus thomasii. Techn. Publ. U.S. Forest Serv. No. 47. Number of accessions cited: 5
  • Shimek, B. 1906. Flora of Winneshiek County. Iowa Geol. Surv. Ann. Rep. 16:147-211. Number of accessions cited: 16
  • Whittemore, A. T. & Z.-L. Xia. 2017. Genome size variation in elms (Ulmus spp.) and related genera. HortScience 52(4):547-553. DOI: 10.21273/HORTSCI11432-16. Number of accessions cited: 29
Pedigree

Observations

Phenotype Data

CategoryDescriptorDescriptionValueSample SizeStudyInventoryAvailability
COMMENTPLOIDY LEVELPloidy level of accession.diploid WOODY-ORNAMENTALS.ULMUS.PLOIDY Not Available
CYTOLOGICPLOIDYPloidy level determined either through flow cytometry or chromosome counting.DIPLOID - Diploid. PLOIDY Not Available
MORPHOLOGYSEED LENGTHLength of seed (samara) in milimeters, including the membranous wing.19.596550WOODY-ORNAMENTALS.ULMUS.SEEDSAmes 33357 16ncao01 SDNot Available
MORPHOLOGYSEED WIDTHWidth of seed (samara) in millimeters, including the membranous wing.12.011650WOODY-ORNAMENTALS.ULMUS.SEEDSAmes 33357 16ncao01 SDNot Available