On Tuesday 22 February 2011, the Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope MLA joined His Excellency Mr Sukhbaatar Batbold, Prime Minister of Mongolia, in planting an Ulmus pumila (commonly known as a Siberian Elm) in the Central Valley of the National Arboretum Canberra. The Central Valley is designed to provide a sculpted landscape for events, informal passive recreation and a setting for a children's play space.
Photographs of the Official Ceremony
Tree information
The Ulmus pumila is native to Mongolia, Central Asia, eastern Siberia, Xizang (Tibet), northern China, India (northern Kashmir) and Korea. These elms grow on the south-facing slopes of the northern Mongolian mountain taiga (forested mountain range).
This elm can be an important tree for the herdsman of dry inner Mongolia and can be used as a food source in mid winter. The bark of the elm tree is stripped off in time of famine and eaten to assuage hunger and prevent starvation. In northern China the young fruit is a delight to those having no fresh vegetables for the winter season, and is eaten raw or cooked.
The elm is usually a small to medium-sized, tree growing to 10-20m tall, with a trunk up to 80cm in diameter. The tree is deciduous in cold areas, but semi-evergreen in warmer climates. The flowers emerge in early spring. In its native environment this tree may live to between 100 and 150 years.