| Ulmus minor subsp. canescens | |
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| Ulmus minor subsp. canescens in Akamas Botanical Garden, Cyprus (2017) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Ulmaceae |
| Genus: | Ulmus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | U. m. subsp. canescens
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| Trinomial name | |
| Ulmus minor subsp. canescens (Melville) Browicz & Ziel.
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| Synonyms | |
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Ulmus minor subsp. canescens is a small deciduous tree occasionally known by the common names grey elm, grey-leafed elm, and hoary elm. Its natural range extends through the lands of the central and eastern Mediterranean, from southern Italy,[2] the islands of Sicily,[3] Malta,[4] Crete,[5] Rhodes[6] and Cyprus, and through Thrace[7] to Turkey,[8][9] and as far south as Israel, where it is now considered rare and endangered in the wild.[10] The tree is typically found amidst the comparatively humid coastal woodlands and scrublands.
The taxonomy of the tree remains a matter of contention; Melville originally treated the tree as a species in its own right, U. canescens,[11] while others, notably Richens, and Browicz & Ziel., sank it as a subspecies of Ulmus minor.[12][13]
The tree is comparatively small, < 20 m high; the slender trunk, its bark coarsely fissured, supporting a rounded crown. The leaves are elliptic to ovate, bluntly toothed, and densely downy on the underside when mature, imbuing them with a distinctive greyish hue.[9] The young shoots also have a whitish-grey down.[4] The tree flowers in February and March, the round samarae, < 15 mm diameter, deeply notched at the outer end, ripen in April.[14][15]
Ulmus minor subsp. canescens is highly susceptible to Dutch elm disease.
Ulmus minor subsp. canescens is occasionally planted as a street tree in Israel, notably in Jerusalem near the Damascus Gate along the Prophets Road and Antal Ben Shaddad street. In Nazareth, a line of mature trees is found along the road leading to the Basilica. It is also planted in Jordan, especially Amman.[citation needed] There are no known cultivars of this taxon, nor is it known to be in commerce.
