Scientific Name
Ulmus americana ‘Pendula’ ‘Weeping American Elm’
This unique tree is without a doubt one of the highlights visitors to the Regis Arboretum are most likely to remember. It is spectacular in every season. In spring, the emerging leaves create a light green umbrella covering the circular 5,000 square foot area surrounding the trunk. In summer, the foliage descending to the ground creates the impression of standing inside a giant tent, where midday temperatures can feel 10 or more degrees cooler than outside the canopy. In fall, the foliage usually turns golden yellow, and the afternoon sun creates a warm glow beneath the tree during the lingering warmth of the season. In winter, attention shifts to the immense, twisted network of branches stretching overhead.
Where did such a memorable tree come from? Who would have guessed, when it was a mere sapling, that it would grow into such a magnificent presence?
This is truly an unusual tree. Its branches are not content simply to reach the ground, but continue growing outward. How far they would ultimately spread is unclear because they must be cut back to keep them from covering nearby walkways. The tree has never produced seed, even though other American elms grow within pollination range. Its trailing branches also have never rooted where they touch the ground, as some plants are capable of doing.
American elms are common in Denver because Dutch elm disease, which killed many elms in the eastern United States, did not arrive here until chemical treatments had been developed to protect them. Left to mature naturally, most American elms become very large trees, often approaching 100 feet tall. The Colorado champion trees are nearly that height. They typically develop a vase-like structure, and some upper branches may arch downward and even touch the ground. However, their branches do not continue crawling outward, and the trees have a far more conventional trunk structure.
Visitors sometimes comment on this tree’s resemblance to the weeping Camperdown cultivar of the European wych elm (Ulmus glabra), which originated in Scotland about 200 years ago. That original tree, still alive today, remains under 10 feet tall and has distinctly different leaves. All subsequent Camperdown elms are clonal descendants of that Scottish tree and usually do not grow taller than 15 feet, though in especially favorable conditions some have reached heights of 40 feet.
The Regis weeping elm was recently measured at 50 feet tall with a trunk diameter of 41.6 inches and now holds the No. 1 position on the Colorado champion tree list for a weeping elm. Even so, the exact status and origin of the Regis tree remain something of a mystery. In the meantime, it continues to be cherished as one of the defining icons of the arboretum.