Nature's Natural Art

Whenever I remove an English Elm (Ulmus minor var. vulgaris) I always imagine how big these indigenous species used to get and how many there were on island. I only remember them as boy as I missed out on climbing them as the “Dutch Elm Disease” arrived on Guernsey’s shores years before I became a Tree surgeon.

Nowadays, English Elms only have a short life span before they succumb to the disease. During the summer months you can start to see clusters of an infected trees leaves turn yellow and wilt and the twigs turn down to form the classic “shepherd crooks” at the tips indicating the tree has been infected by the Fungus (Ophiostoma novo-ulmi.)

The Elm Bark Beetle‘s (Scolytus scolytus) is how the fungus infiltrates the tree. The beetle carries the fungus and infects the Elm when feeding on the young bark of the tree’s twigs. When the fungus has infected the host it feeds and grows in the tree’s living conductive tissue called xylem. Once the fungus has gained access, the tree is unable to stop the fungus spreading. The combination of the fungus expanding through the conductive tissue and the Elm’s own defence system causes the vascular pipeline to be blocked off. This results in the young tree going into rapid decline. You can see the foliage wilt and die in the Summer months.

The Elm Bark Beetles breed in dead and dying elms. Their larvae leave a distinctive pattern of continuous rings on the underside of the bark and the wood. Which is actually quite decorative to see.

Other ways that this wood can be re-purposed is for planks.

In Guernsey we have a species of elm for our street trees which is resistant so we still get to see a variation of the species. But sadly the English Elm has a limited life span and we have to imagine how tall they used to be over here.

If you have a dead elm trees in the wrong place are a safety hazard and should be felled to avoid damage or injury.