ELM TREE LEAF

Images and drawings dating back to 1840 depict the Green edged with a magnificent canopy of American elm trees, earning Dartmouth the nickname “The College of a Thousand Elms.” But the trees’ close proximity to each other led to disaster when Dutch elm disease arrived in the 1950s. The College cut 11 diseased elms in 1951, and by the 1980s Dartmouth had lost more than 200 elms. Roughly 150 remain on campus and town streets. Last year a 140-year- old giant elm succumbed to root rot, and the Collis elm was taken down in 2012 because of decay in the trunk. In 2011 the Parkhurst elm was also removed due to an insect infestation. Since the 1990s the oldest elms have been treated with preventive fungicide injections, and several dozen young, disease- resistant elms are added to the College’s tree nursery each year. According to campus arborist Brian Beaty, Dartmouth continues to plant elm trees because, in addition to their historical significance, desirable form and superior architecture, American elms are usually tolerant of urban growing conditions.