Ulmus glabra - Wych Elm

Taxonomy

Phylum: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Rosales

Family: Ulmaceae

This is the most common of the native elm trees of Britain; however, in common with other Ulmus species its numbers have been decimated by Dutch elm disease - a fungus infection known to mycologists as Ophiostoma novo-ulmi, which belongs to the fungal class Ascomycetes - that entered Britain in the mid 1960s.

Leaves of Ulmus glabra are generally broadest near the apex and have 12 to 18 pairs of veins that end in pointed teeth at the edge of the leaf. As with other elms, the upper side of the leaf is covered in stubbly bristles.

The name 'wych' means pliant.