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Ulmus glabra (Ulmaceae)

In the small borgata Casa Mordini a mountain elm has grown for half a century,  it is considered the oldest in Italy and one of the oldest in Europe. Its circumference is of 6.8 m and its height is of 30m and maybe it is also the tallest elm of Italy.

The centuries old tree grows next to a small oratory, dedicated to Madonna di Monte Nero, which was built in 1719. As the years passed, the elm found itself against the oratory’s wall and one of its branches presses against its roof.

The principal trunk of the elm divides itself at two meters of height into numerous secondary trunks which vegetate each year and form a marvellous green foliage.

The phytosanitary conditions of the elm are good, after two safeguard interventions fulfilled in 2008 and 2015. The last intervention included the careful pruning of the foliage, the disinfection and the removing of moss.

This majestic elm is important also because it is one of the last elms not to be affected by the Dutch elm disease, a illness causing the death of hundreds of similar specimens.

How to reach it:

Starting from Modena, it is possible to reach the town of Pievepelago and from there the deviation towards Passo Radici. After two kilometers turn left towards Lago Santo and the locality of Tagliole. At Tagliole, it is possible to park and walk to borgata di Casa Mordini till the oratory and its tree.

Botanical characteristics of mountain elms:

A European-Caucasian species,  it is spread nearly all over Italy and principally in the mountain areas till 1600 meters of altitude.

Mountain elms are considered a species which is able to improve the soil, since their leaves are rich in proteins.

The species can form small groups of trees and it adapts well to life with heliophilous, schiaphilous and broad leaved species, what matters is the fertility, freshness and good-ventilation of the soil.

Mountain elms’ leaves were used once as forage for kettle. The wood is now used mainly in seafaring, because of its high resistance to water and its mechanical resistance (it is nearly impossible to break).

Elms are a species subject to the attacks of a fungus which causes the Dutch elm disease, a mortal illness for the majority of the specimens. Fortunately, mountain elms are more resistant than rural ones, maybe because they reproduce only with seeds and not with pollen.

FOTO: http://www.museomummieroccapelago.com/il-territorio/tagliole/

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)