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Ulmus davidiana - Planch.                
                 
Common Name Japanese Elm
Family Ulmaceae
Synonyms
Known Hazards None known
Habitats Slopes, wetlands near streams and valleys at elevations of 2000 - 2300 metres[266].
Range E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.
Edibility Rating  
Medicinal Rating  
Care
Fully Hardy Moist Soil Semi-shade Full sun

Summary       

Physical Characteristics       
 icon of manicon of lolypop
Ulmus davidiana is a deciduous Tree growing to 15 m (49ft 3in).
It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen from May to June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind.


Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Ulmus davidiana Japanese Elm


Ulmus davidiana Japanese Elm
   
Habitats       
Woodland Garden Canopy;
Edible Uses                                         
Edible Parts: Fruit;  Inner bark;  Leaves.
Edible Uses:

Leaves - raw or cooked[105, 177]. Young fruits - cooked[105, 177]. Inner bark - dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in soups or added to cereal flours when making bread etc[105, 177].
Medicinal Uses
Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.



None known
Other Uses
Fibre;  Wood.

A fibre is obtained from the inner bark[189]. The bark is soaked for 7 - 10 days in water, the inner and outer barks are then separated and the inner bark is stripped into strands and made into thread by chewing it. It is made into a coarse fabric[189]. Wood - heavy, difficult to work. Used for axles, hubs etc[46, 61].
Cultivation details                                         
Prefers a fertile soil in full sun[188], but it is easily grown in any soil of at least moderate quality so long as it is well drained[1]. 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[200]. 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[200]. Closely related to U. japonica[200].
                                                                                 
Propagation                                         
Seed - if sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe, it usually germinates within a few days[200]. Stored seed does not germinate so well and should be sown in early spring[200]. 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[80]. 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[200].
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Expert comment                                         
 
      
Author                                         
Planch.
                                                                                 
Botanical References                                         
11200266
                                                                                 
Links / References                                         

[1]F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[46]Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants.
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[61]Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man.
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[80]McMillan-Browse. P. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed.
Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.
[105]Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
[177]Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption.
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
[188]Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
[189]Bell. L. A. Plant Fibres for Papermaking.
A good practical section on how to make paper on a small scale plus details of about 75 species (quite a few of them tropical) that can be used.
[200]Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[266] Flora of China
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers comment                                         
 
Elizabeth H.
Wed Apr 21 17:42:21 2004
Trees or shrubs, to 15 m tall, d.b.h. to 30 cm, deciduous. Bark longitudinally fissured. Branchlets pubescent when young, glabrescent or ± pubescent, sometimes with irregularly longitudinally fissured corky layer. Winter buds ovoid; bud scales partly pubescent. Petiole 5-10(-17) mm, pubescent; leaf blade obovate to obovate-elliptic, 4-9(-10) × 1.5-4(-5.5) cm, abaxially densely pubescent when young but glabrescent with tufted hairs only in axil of veins, adaxially sparsely hirsute when young but glabrescent, base oblique, margin doubly serrate, apex caudate-acuminate to acuminate; secondary veins 12-22 on each side of midvein. Inflorescences fascicled cymes on second year branchlets. Perianth glabrous, 4-lobed. Samaras tan, obovate to ± obovate, 1-1.9 × 0.7-1.4 cm; stalk pubescent, ca. 2 mm; wings usually glabrous. Seed toward apex and in center of samara.

Slopes, wetlands near streams, valleys; below 2300 m. Anhui, Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, E Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Zhejiang [Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia (Far East, E Siberia)].

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