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Ulmus glabra (Ulmaceae)

This majestic Scotch elm is one of the few remaining around the churches of Piedmont.
The tragic fate of this monumental tree seemed sealed when some years ago it was scheduled for demolition; most luckily, one of the three families of its owners avoided such disaster, and the majestic tree is still peacefully growing today.

The elm, which grows in the churchyard of the small chapel of San Michele, in the hamlet of Bergemolo (CN), was planted in 1620 – the same year when the church was built. It is now some 400 years old.

The phytosanitary conditions of this centuries-old elm are quite fair, as over time it has suffered the loss of one of the three main branches which has caused the formation of a descending cavity in the stem; the latter has been recently fitted with lead protection, to prevent water rain infiltrations.
In recent years, containment and pruning of dead branches have also been performed.

Although its conditions are not optimal, the plant, which has now reached a height of 115 ft and a trunk circumference of more than 20 ft, continues to produce its beautiful green foliage every year.

How to get there:

Travel to Borgo S. Dalmazzo, from Cuneo. Then, cross the Stura di Demonte Valley and reach Demonte: a steep and narrow road through the woods, will lead to Bergemolo and the church of S. Michele.

Botanical card:

This species is of European-Caucasian origins and it is widespread almost all over Italy, especially in the mountain plains up to 5.249 ft of altitude.

The mountain elm is considered a soil-enhancing species as its leaves are rich in proteins.

This species can grow in small groups, adapting well to the presence of heliophilic broad-leaved trees and sciaphilous species. The soil has to be fertile, fresh and well ventilated.

The leaves of the Scotch elm were once used as forage for livestock. Its wood is nowadays used mainly in the shipyards, given its excellent resistance to water and its mechanical hardness (it is almost impossible to break).

It is a species prone to fungus infections that would cause a deadly disease for most plants of this species – the “graphiosis of the elm”. Fortunately, the Scotch elm is more resistant to this disease than the field elm, probably because it reproduces only by seed and not by its shoots like the latter.

Photo source: http://mapio.net/pic/p-79956843/

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)