Heritage Trees

Zelkova carpinifolia, Caucasian elm

1760

The Caucasian elm is located in the Herbarium Paddock at Kew and is not accessible to the public.

A tree native to the Caucasus; three specimens were originally planted at Kew in 1760 when zelkovas were reportedly brought into cultivation in Britain. Planted in what is now the Herbarium paddock, they were not listed as notable historic trees in research of 1905 but were measured as being 60 ft high even then. Little seems to be known about them even under all their previous Latin names, including Zelkova crenata. As they are not within the boundaries of the original arboretum it is unlikely they were bought by Princess Augusta for the original botanic garden at Kew. Indeed the paddock where they are planted was once the garden of a neighbouring house. It is possible that only a few zelkovas were introduced around this time, whereas more were brought in by Michaux around 1782 from Persia. Elwes and Henry note in 1905 that "this tree is now rarely seen in nurseries, though it is easily propagated by suckers and seed could be procured without difficulty from its native country". They may have been brought in from France where they were admired and collected, or they may have been donated from an estate in Britain that already had one — for example the tree at Wardour Castle was thought to have been one of the first in the country; this specimen was measured as being 100 ft high in 1905.

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Search Kew's electronic Plant Information Centre for scientific information about Zelkova carpinifolia

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