A Crowning Curio

The Camperdown Elm

Ulmus glabra 'Camperdownii'

The Camperdown Elm was developed in the late 1830s when a mutant Scots Elm branch was discovered growing along the ground at Camperdown House in Dundee, Scotland. The mutated branch was grafted onto the trunk of a normal Scots Elm producing a tree with "weeping" branches. All Camperdown Elms that exist today trace back to that original mutation. A beneficial side effect of this "new" elm was its immunity to Dutch Elm Disease that decimated the species throughout North America in the last century.

Prospect Park's Camperdown Elm, planted here in 1872, was situated on a raised mound to allow its weeping branches to clear the ground. The tree suffering years of neglect captured public attention in 1967 when it was immortalized in a poem written by Brooklyn resident and Pulitzer-prize winning poet, Marianne Moore. "It is still leafing; still there," she wrote of the damaged tree. "Mortal though. We must save it. It is our crowning curio."

Today under its crown you can see cables supporting the tree's branches, and a plastic shield that prevents water from rotting one of its hollow limbs.

Moore's efforts and those of a concerned group of local citizens succeeded in in creasing public awareness about threatened and vulnerable elements throughout the Park. Thanks to their dedication we can still enjoy the beauty of the Camperdown Elm today and celebrate its legacy as the impetus for the Park's restoration.

Submitted by @lampbane and @no_such_zone

1872

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