| Ulmus szechuanica | |
|---|---|
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| Ulmus szechuanica, Sir Harold Hillier Gardens | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Ulmaceae |
| Genus: | Ulmus |
| Species: | U. szechuanica
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| Binomial name | |
| Ulmus szechuanica Fang
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| Synonyms | |
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Ulmus szechuanica Fang, known as the Szechuan (Sichuan), or red-fruited, elm, is a small to medium deciduous Chinese tree found along the Yangtze river through the provinces of Sichuan, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Jiangsu.
The tree can reach a height of 18 m, but is usually less than 10 m, with a spreading umbrella-like crown. The leaves, dark red on emergence, are generally obovate < 9 cm long by 5 cm broad, borne on branchlets with an irregular corky layer. The wind-pollinated apetalous flowers are produced on second-year shoots in February, followed in March by suborbicular samarae < 16 mm long by 13 mm wide.[2][3]
Ulmus szechuanica was evaluated with other Chinese elms at the Morton Arboretum, Illinois, where it exhibited a resistance to Dutch elm disease. The species is eschewed by the Elm Leaf Beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola.[4][5]
Growing best on well-drained soils, U. szechuanica is cold hardy; in artificial freezing tests at the Morton Arboretum [6] the LT50 (temp. at which 50% of tissues die) was found to be −30 °C. However, it was also found to be comparatively weak-wooded, making it susceptible to storm damage in winter.[7] There are no known cultivars of this taxon, nor is it known to be in commerce beyond the United States.
U. szechuanica is believed to have been used in post-2000 hybridization experiments at the Morton Arboretum.[8]
