Ulmus glabra Wych Elm

Wych Elm is the only elm of which we are certain is native in Britain. Pollen evidence shows that it was present in Britain in pre-neolithic times when it was a major component of western forests. The pollen record also records a significant elm decline about 6,000 years ago which is thought to be the consequence of disease. Disease has also had an impact on the British Wych Elm population in more recent history. Unlike English Elm (Ulmus procera), Wych Elm does not sucker (although it will coppice), so lots of notable trees were lost as a result of Dutch Elm Disease in the 1970s and very old trees are now rare in the British countryside. Nevertheless there are some fine trees in West Glamorgan, particularly in the riparian corridors of the main valleys. It likes to grow in moist, base-rich soils at the base of valley slopes, but it also grows in Ash woodlands on limestone. It is a majpr component of the valley bottom, riparian woodlands in the Vlae of Neath, where it grows with Small-leaved Lime (Tilia cordata), Ash (Fraxinus excelsior), Alder (Alnus glutinosa) and Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatinus), but it is absent from the Sessile-oak woodlands that characterise the steep slopes of these valleys. It flowers early in the year and produces lots of conspicuous, winged fruits that are dispersed by wind and water.

Native