Ulmus minor 'Sarniensis'

Ulmus minor cultivar
Guernsey Elms, Amsterdam.
Cultivar	'Sarniensis'
Origin	Guernsey, or Brittany

The Field Elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Sarniensis', known variously as Guernsey Elm, Jersey Elm, Wheatley Elm, or Southampton Elm, once enjoyed much popularity in Britain, where it was widely cultivated for street planting. However the Dutch elm disease pandemic has now destroyed nearly all the mature trees in England save a few in Preston Park, Brighton, Bridlington, Peasholm Park, Scarborough and a single tree in Skegness. Around a hundred mature specimens still survive in Edinburgh, Scotland (2013).

The origin of the tree remains obscure; Richens believed the tree "a mutant of a French population of Field elm", noting that "elms of similar leaf-form occur in Cotentin and in northern Brittany. They vary much in habit but some have a tendency to pyramidal growth. Whether the distinctive habit first developed on the mainland or in Guernsey is uncertain." Ronald Melville believed it should be more correctly considered a hybrid between Cornish Elm U. minor 'Stricta' and Dutch Elm Ulmus × hollandica for which the botanical name would be U. × sarniensis (Loud.) Bancroft.

Its clonal origin is (to date) suspected rather than proved, but the apparent uniformity of this taxon makes it likely to be a clone. Arguing in a 2002 paper that there was no clear distinction between species and subspecies, and suggesting that known or suspected clones of U. minor, once cultivated and named, should be treated as cultivars, Dr Max Coleman of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh preferred the designation U. minor 'Sarniensis'.