8. Split The Winds Tree
A fine old wych elm grows at a road junction with a wonderfully descriptive name in the Aberdeen neighbourhood of Kittybrewster.
Welcome to The Street Tree! This is the eighth in a series of pithy illustrated posts about great individual trees from Britain and Ireland. I’ll be posting at least one a week over the coming months.
A buttressed trunk and great arching limbs, each with many decades of moss accumulation, ensure this grand old wych elm is an Aberdeen landmark. This status is aided by its prominent position by the church on Powis Place at 'Split The Winds', the junction with George Street. It is one of the largest and probably oldest urban trees of its type, only Sheffield’s Broomhall Elm comes close.
Species details
Wych elm
Ulmus glabra
Where to find it
Split The Winds, Powis Place, Aberdeen, AB25 3TT
///race.salon.hung | 57.157921, -2.1101080
Wych elm notes
Wych elm is the species most likely to have survived the rigours of Dutch Elm Disease. Unlike other elms, it is able to easily reproduce itself sexually through seeds, ensuring its gene pool is constantly fermenting and many individual trees have proven to be resilient. However, several wych elm cultivars, notably ‘Camperdownii’ is notoriously susceptible.
