24.) ULMACEAE to URTICACEAE

Useful Link

ULMACEAE - Elm family

ZELKOVA Spach

Zelkova serrata (Thunb.) Makino (Japanese Elm) General Very Rare A native of East Asia. A single tree was recorded at Brandon Hill? in 2015 by R. Bland? and two trees at Horfield Common in 2025 by D. Peters.

ULMUS L.

Ulmus davidiana Planch. var. japonica (Rehder) Nakai (David's Elm) General Very Rare A native of East Asia. Very rarely grown in Britain. Found planted as a street tree at Stokes Croft (3 specimens) and on Wellington Road (6 specimens), St. Pauls, Bristol in 2024 by D. Peters.
Ulmus glabra Huds. (Wych Elm) / Woodland Frequent Frequent in ancient woodland and hedgerows; particularly on limestone. It is much more resistant to Dutch Elm disease and was largely unaffected by it.
Ulmus glabra x U. plotii = ?U. x elegantissima Horw. (English x Plot's Elm) Recorded at Clevedon in 1991 by ?.
Ulmus glabra x U. minor = U. x vegeta (Loudon) Ley (U. x hollandica Mill.) (Huntingdon Elm) General
Ulmus glabra x U. minor x U. plotii = U. x hollandica Mill. (Dutch Elm)
Ulmus procera Salisb. (English Elm) / Woodland Frequent Formerly one of the most common trees to be seen in our region until the epidemic of Dutch Elm disease struck. It is still frequent in hedges and woodland edge but surviving only as suckers.
Ulmus minor Mill. (Small-leaved Elm) Woodland Scattered over the region in hedges and woodland surviving only as suckers after the outbreak of Dutch Elm disease.

[Modern records from around Bristol need checking. Are they from iNaturalist?!]

ssp. minor Woodland The nominate plant to which most records refer.

C.I. Sandwith comments (in Bristol Botany in 1939) on "the remarkable phenomenon of frozen rain. When it rains it is usual to look for a thaw, but this rain fell mercilessly upon everything and turned its victims into solid ice. Boughs of trees were weighed down, broken and broadcast and the beautiful row of elms (Ulmus stricta var. sarniensis) in Tyntesfield Park was devastated and cracked, the broken limbs hanging forlon".

ssp. angustifolia (Weston) Stace (Goodyer's Elm) Recorded at ST76 and ST45 in 1980s by ? [BSBI records].
Ulmus plotii Druce (Plot's Elm) - 2 BSBI Records

CANNABACEAE - Hop family

CANNABIS L.

Cannabis sativa L. (Hemp) / General Very rare as a casual but in cultivation, Cannabis is surely one of the most widely occurring plants in Bristol. It is not infrequent to find suspicious piles of high quality compost dumped at the bases of street trees and hedges in urban areas - the remains of subsistence cultivation.

HUMULUS L.

Humulus lupulus L. (Hop) / Woodland

CELTIS L.

Celtis occidentalis L. (Common Hackberry) General Very Rare A native of North America. Rarely grown in Britain. It was recorded at Henbury in 2015 by R. Bland?.

MORACEAE - Mulberry family

MORUS L.

Morus nigra L. (Black Mulberry)

FICUS L.

Ficus carica L. (Fig) / General Two old specimens growing out of the harbourside docks at Castle Park have been known for over a century "Dwarf trees of many years' growth have sprung from a wall of the Floating Harbour near Bristol Bridge, in the centre of the city". (White, 1918) and during the June drop, green fruits can be seen floating down the river.

URTICACEAE - Nettle family

URTICA L.

Urtica diocia L. (Common Nettle) / General

[There are two 1km squares that have no records - ST5563 W of Chew Magna Reservoir and ST7176 E of Pucklechurch.]

ssp. dioica General Common
ssp. subinermis (R. Uechtr.) Weigend General Very Rare
Urtica incisa Poir. (Scrub Nettle) Recorded at Whitchurch in 2014 by ?;

[seems suspicious how all records are in 2014]

Urtica pilulifera L. (Roman Nettle) 1856 General
Urtica urens L. (Small Nettle) / General
Urtica membranaceae Poir. (Mediterranean Nettle) General Very Rare - 1 BSBI record Was discovered for the first time in the region at Nailsea in 2010 by P. Millman and still persists here as of 2023. It possibly arrived as a contaminant of Mediterranean pot plants.

PARIETARIA L.

Parietaria judaica L. (Pellitory-of-the-wall) / General

SOLEIROLIA L.

Soleirolia soleirolii (Req.) Dandy (Mind-your-own-business) / General Frequent in damp shaded spots at the bases of walls and in gateways; mainly in urban areas. Traditionally grown as a ground cover plant to fill crevices in pathways. It forms conspicuous cushions which are satisfyingly squidgy to push down on. It was first recorded wild in our region in 1923 in a drain at Long Ashton by I.M. Roper and by a wall at Pill by H.J. Gibbons. Though rarely cultivated today, it has expanded its range noticeably since 2000. Apparently so called because it doesn't need much attention and looks after itself - 'minding its own business' but who ever came up with the name must be congratulated for what (intended or not,) is surely one of the longest standing botany jokes there is. It never ceases to lose its power - on the occasion a passer by asks what a botanist is looking at - Mind-your-own-business! As the passer by looks back with confusion. One can only imagine the genius behind it sprung the idea after becoming frustrated from people asking.

List:

Zelkova serrata (Thunb.) Makino (Japanese Elm)
Ulmus davidiana Planch. var. japonica (Rehder) Nakai (David’s Elm)
Ulmus glabra Huds. (Wych Elm) / Woodland
Ulmus glabra x U. plotii = ?U. x elegantissima Horw. (English x Plot's Elm)
Ulmus glabra x U. minor = U. x vegeta (Loudon) Ley (U. x hollandica Mill. - Kew, GBIF) (Huntingdon Elm) General
Ulmus glabra x U. minor x U. plotii = U. x hollandica Mill. (Dutch Elm)
Ulmus procera Salisb. (English Elm) / Woodland
Ulmus minor Mill. (ssp. minor Small-leaved Elm ? - Stace & NBN) Woodland
Ulmus minor Mill. ssp. angustifolia (Weston) Stace (Goodyer's Elm) - 2 BSBI Records
Ulmus plotii Druce (Plot's Elm) - 2 BSBI Records
Cannabis sativa L. (Hemp) / General
Humulus lupulus L. (Hop) / Woodland
Celtis occidentalis L. (Common Hackberry) General
Morus nigra L. (Black Mulberry)
Ficus carica L. (Fig) / General
Urtica diocia L. (ssp. dioica - Stace) (Common Nettle) / General
Urtica dioica ssp. subinermis (R. Uechtr.) Weigend (Common Nettle) General Very Rare - several BSBI records
Urtica incisa Poir. (Scrub Nettle)
Urtica pilulifera L. (Roman Nettle) 1856 General
Urtica urens L. (Small Nettle) / General
Urtica membranaceae Poir. (Mediterranean Nettle) General - 1 BSBI record
Parietaria judaica L. (Pellitory-of-the-wall) / General
Soleirolia soleirolii (Req.) Dandy (Mind-your-own-business) / General

Species to add:

Zelkova serrata (Thunb.) Makino (Japanese Elm)
Ulmus davidiana Planch. var. japonica (Rehder) Nakai (David’s Elm)
Ulmus glabra x U. plotii = ?U. x elegantissima Horw. (English x Plot's Elm)
Ulmus glabra x U. minor x U. plotii = U. x hollandica Mill. (Dutch Elm)
Ulmus minor Mill. ssp. angustifolia (Weston) Stace (Goodyer's Elm) - 2 BSBI Records
Ulmus plotii Druce (Plot's Elm) - 2 BSBI Records
Celtis occidentalis L. (Common Hackberry)
Morus nigra L. (Black Mulberry)
Urtica dioica ssp. subinermis (R. Uechtr.) Weigend (Common Nettle) - several BSBI records
Urtica incisa Poir. (Scrub Nettle)
Urtica membranaceae Poir. (Mediterranean Nettle) - 1 BSBI record