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 Upside down trees
have a story to tell
by Amanda Grooms
argonaut staff
Some of the oldest and rarest trees on the University of Idaho
campus are getting some deserved attention.
The UI Arboretum Associates have installed a $500 plaque commemorating
the nine Camperdown elm trees on the west end of Niccolls Hall
on Campus drive. The trees have been on campus for 84 years and
are among few of their kind in the Northwest.
The Camperdown elm stands out because of its unusual shape. These
trees are often described as "upside down trees" because
their weeping branches and knotty trunk are formed by being grafted
upwards. Normally, the Camperdown elm grows along the ground
like a bush.
Richard Naskali, UI arboretum director, researched the trees
back to their early origins in Scotland.
"I'm a hardcore botanist and was once a botany teacher,
so I used many different [resources] to research the Camperdown
elms. I went to the library and used photo collections, literature
searches and the Gem and Argonaut, as well as other newspapers,
to establish when they came to the university."
Naskali even traveled to England and Scotland to trace the trees.
"I made trips to Europe and saw many different specimens.
I made close bonds with people over there," Naskali said.
The Camperdown elms were first seen at the Camperdown House in
Dundee, Scotland in 1835. There is even a long history behind
the name "Camperdown."
"Adam Duncan of the British Royal Navy had a fleet off the
coast of the Netherlands to fight the Dutch. He destroyed their
fleet at what came to be known as the battle of Camperdoon. Camperdoon
was the basis for the name Camperdown Estate. Duncan's son inherited
the estate and planted a grove of Scotch Elms. All of those elms
grew upright, but in 1797, a genetic mutant grew along the ground...It's
proper name is 'Camperdownii' elm," Naskali said.
The Camperdown elm is believed to have come to the horticulture
world sometime after 1835 when a whole grove grew at the Camperdown
Estate.
The trees are now seen across the United States.
"The Camperdown elms have become the most revered trees
on campus. UI foundations use them on letterheads. They are seen
in catalogs and on diplomas," Naskali said.
For the trees to grow upright, they must be grafted along the
bark. The ones at UI are grafted with regular wild elm from the
ground up to about four feet.
"If you look at the trees you can see that the bark changes
after about four feet. That is where the Camperdown elm takes
over to grow upright," Naskali said.
Ten elms were originally planted at the university. A contractor
working in the area destroyed one of the trees Aug. 1.
"The contractor was told to take down this giant tree that
was next to the elms in sections. However, instead, they just
cut it down as if they were logging in the forest and it fell
right on one of the Camperdown elms, smashing it," Naskali
said.
A search has begun across the Northwest for a suitable specimen
to plant in its place. The expected cost of moving the tree and
replanting it is about $10,000 to$15,000.
Ten more Camperdown elms were planted in the UI arboretum in
honor of an alumnus' son who was killed in an accident last winter.
The father, who owns a Twin Falls nursery, donated the trees.
university of idaho argonaut
editor in chief david browning
301 student union. moscow, id 83844
ph# 885.7845 argonaut
or e-custodian bob
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