Zelkova

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Genus of trees

title: "Zelkova" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["zelkova", "rosales-genera"] description: "Genus of trees" topic_path: "general/zelkova" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelkova" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of trees ::

Zelkova (from the Georgian dzelkva, 'stone pillar') is a genus of six species of deciduous trees in the elm family Ulmaceae, native to southern Europe, and southwest and eastern Asia. They vary in size from shrubs (Z. sicula) to large trees up to 35 m tall (Z. carpinifolia). The bark is smooth, dark brown. Unlike elms, the branchlets are never corky or winged. The leaves are alternate, with serrated margins, and (unlike the related elms) a symmetrical base to the leaf blade. The leaves are in two distinct rows; they have pinnate venation and each vein extends to the leaf margin, where it terminates in a tooth. There are two stipules at each node, though these are caducous (shed early), leaving a pair of scars at the leaf base. Zelkova is polygamous. Staminate flowers are clustered in the lower leaf axils of young branchlets; the perianth is campanulate, with four to six (to seven) lobes, and the stamens are short. Pistillate and hermaphrodite flowers are solitary, or rarely in clusters of two to four, in the upper leaf axils of young branchlets. The fruit is a dry, nut-like drupe with a dorsal keel, produced singly in the leaf axils. The perianth and stigma are persistent.

Species and distribution

Zelkova abelicea – Cretan zelkova (Crete in Greece)
Zelkova carpinifolia – Caucasian zelkova (Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran)
Zelkova serrata – Keyaki or Japanese zelkova (Japan, Korea, Kuril Islands in Russia, Taiwan, China)
- Zelkova serrata var. serrata
- Zelkova serrata var. tarokoensis
Zelkova sicula – Sicilian zelkova (Sicily, Italy in 2 locations: Bosco Pisano and Ciranna)
Zelkova sinica – Chinese zelkova (China)
Zelkova schneideriana – Schneider's zelkova (China) ;Hybrids
Zelkova × verschaffeltii – Cut-leaf zelkova (Z. carpinifolia × Z. serrata)

Ecology

The genus Zelkova was common throughout northern Europe and North America as late as the Pliocene. However, extensive Pleistocene glaciation has confined the genus to its present range to the eastern Mediterranean islands and the Caucasus, and in eastern Asia where only local glaciation occurred. Species of Zelkova were important elements of the vast forests that prevailed throughout the Northern Hemisphere during much of the Cenozoic.{{cite book | last = Mai | first = D.H. | title = Tertiäre Vegetationsgeschichte Europas. Methoden und Ergebnisse. | publisher = Gustav Fischer | location = Jena, Germany | date = 1995}}{{cite journal | last1 = Fineschi | first1 = S. | last2 = Cozzolino | first2 = S. | last3 = Migliaccio | first3 = M. | last4 = Vendramin | first4 = G.G. | title = Genetic variation of relic tree species: the case of Mediterranean Zelkova abelicea (Lam.) Boissier and Z. sicula Di Pasquale, Garfi and Quézel (Ulmaceae) | journal = Forest Ecology and Management | year = 2004 | volume = 197 | issue = 1–3 | pages = 273–278 | doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2004.05.018| bibcode = 2004ForEM.197..273F | last = Walker | first = J.D. | title = GSA geologic time scale (v. 4.0). | publisher = Geological Society of America | location = Boulder, Colorado | date = 2012 | doi = 10.1130/2012.CTS004R3C

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/2014-11-02_14_31_33_Zelkova_foliage_during_autumn_along_Woosamonsa_Road_in_Hopewell_Township,_New_Jersey.jpg" caption="Autumn foliage"] ::

Today, the genus comprises six species with disjunct distribution patterns:{{cite journal | last1 = Denk | first1 = T. | last2 = Grimm | first2 = G.W. | title = Phylogeny and biogeography of Zelkova (Ulmaceae sensu stricto) as inferred from leaf morphology, ITS sequence data and the fossil record | journal = Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society | year = 2005 | volume = 147

| issue = 2 | pages = 129–157 | doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.2005.00354.x| doi-access = free | last = Burnham | first = R.J. | title = Foliar morphological analysis of the Ulmoideae (Ulmaceae) from the early Tertiary of western North America | journal = Palaeontographica Abteilung B | year = 1986 | volume = 201 | pages = 135–167}} In Bulgaria, Zelkova fossils were found in Paleogene and Neogene layers in the following locations: Zelkova ungeri (Ett.) Kov. — Lozenets, Kurilo, Chukurovo in Sofia Region, Dospey in Samokov Region, Pernik, Pirin Mine in Blagoevgrad Region, Bobov Dol in Kyustendil Region; Zelkova praelonga Berger — Pirin Mine in Blagoevgrad Region.{{cite book | editor-last = Jordanov | editor-first = Daki | title = Flora of Bulgaria: Salicaceae до Amaranthaceae | publisher = Bulgarian Academy of Sciences | volume = III | location = Sofia | date = 1966 | page = 155 }}

Zelkova abelicea is endemic to Crete (Greece); it has a fragmentary distribution in the four main mountain regions of Crete (Lefka Ori, Psiloritis, Dikti and Thrypti), between 900 and 1800 m above sea level, which corresponds to the upper timberline.{{cite journal | last1 = Kozlowski | first1 = Gregor | last2 = Frey | first2 = David | last3 = Fazan | first3 = L. | last4 = Egli | first4 = B. | last5 = Bétrisey | first5 = Sébastien | last6 = Gratzfeld | first6 = J. | last7 = Garfi | first7 = Giuseppe | last8 = Pirintsos | first8 = Stergios

| title = The Tertiary relict tree Zelkova abelicea (Ulmaceae): distribution, population structure and conservation status | journal = Oryx | year = 2014 | volume = 48

| pages = 505–510}}{{cite journal | last1 = Søndergaard | first1 = P. | last2 = Egli | first2 = B.R. | title = Zelkova abelicea (Ulmaceae) in Crete: floristics, ecology, propagation and threats | journal = Willdenowia | year = 2006 | volume = 36

| pages = 317–322 | doi=10.3372/wi.36.36126| s2cid = 86160345 | doi-access = free | editor-last1 = Phitos | editor-first1 = D. | editor-last2 = Strid | editor-first2 = A. | editor-last3 = Snogerup | editor-first3 = S. | editor-last4 = Greuter | editor-first4 = W. | title = The red data book of rare and threatened plants of Greece | publisher = WWF Greece | location = Athens, Greece | isbn = 9789607506047 | date = 1995}}

The Sicilian Zelkova Z. sicula, only discovered in 1991, is listed as an endangered species. The two known populations close to Syracuse (Bosco Pisano and Ciranna) comprise a small number of low shrubs suffering from severe overgrazing; the natural mature size of undamaged specimens is unknown.

Whilst all the known Zelkova taxa are currently in cultivation and in botanic gardens or arboreta, relatively few collections are known to be from wild sourced material or known in the countries of their natural distribution. Z. sicula and Z. abelicea are the two taxa considered to be at most risk of extinction (Critically Endangered and Vulnerable). These two Zelkova species are the two with the most restricted natural distribution—both are small island endemics. The Zelkova with the widest natural distribution, Z. serrata, is also the most common Zelkova in botanic garden collections.

Phylogeography, using chloroplast and mitochondrial markers, has mostly focused on the Quaternary and the influence of the cycles of glaciation on species distribution and structure.{{cite journal | last1 = Schönswetter | first1 = P. | last2 = Stehlik | first2 = I. | last3 = Holderegger | first3 = R. | last4 = Tribsch | first4 = A. | title = Molecular evidence for glacial refugia of mountain plants in the European Alps | journal = Molecular Ecology | year = 2005 | volume = 14

| pages = 97–100 | doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2012.04.026| bibcode = 2012BCons.153...97F | url = http://doc.rero.ch/record/29686/files/koz_sdm.pdf

A few phylogenetic and biogeographical studies have been carried out on Zelkova,{{cite journal | last1 = Fineschi | first1 = S. | last2 = Anzidei | first2 = M. | last3 = Cafasso | first3 = D. | last4 = Cozzolino | first4 = S. | last5 = Garfi | first5 = G. | last6 = Pastorelli | first6 = R. | last7 = Salvini | first7 = D. | last8 = Taurchini | first8 = D. | last9 = Vendramin | first9 = G.G. | title = Molecular markers reveal a strong genetic differentiation between two European relic tree species: Zelkova abelicea (Lam.) Boissier and Z. sicula Di Pasquale, Garfi & Quezél (Ulmaceae). | journal = Conservation Genetics | year = 2002 | volume = 3

Cultivation and uses

Zelkova serrata and Z. carpinifolia are grown as ornamental trees. The wood is hard, used for making furniture. In Japan, the wood of the keyaki, or Z. serrata is used for making drums, called wadaiko. The most desired drums are hollowed out of a trunk of a zelkova tree, but in many cases, the drum is fashioned from staves of keyaki wood, using the same method as when constructing a barrel.

Etymology

The name Zelkova derives from the native name of Z. carpinifolia in the Georgian language – one of the Kartvelian languages spoken in the Caucasus, as shown by the Georgian name, dzelkva, from the words dzeli, meaning 'bar' or 'pillar', and kva meaning 'rock' or 'stone' The tree was often used for making rock-hard and durable bars for building and furniture.

References

"Zelkova Spach 1841 (zelkova)".
Zhang, Ming-Li. (2017-08-26). "Cenozoic evolutionary history of Zelkova (Ulmaceae), evidenced from ITS, trnL-trnF, psbA-trnH, and rbcL". Tree Genetics & Genomes.
Andrews, S. (1994). Tree of the year: Zelkova. ''Int. Dendrol. Soc. Yearbook'' 1993: 11-30.
de Spoelberch, P. (1994). Zelkova: More questions than answers. ''Int. Dendrol. Soc. Yearbook'' 1993: 30–33.
Hunt, D. (1994). Beware of the Zelkova. ''Int. Dendrol. Soc. Yearbook'' 1993: 33–41.
Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins. {{ISBN. 0-00-220013-9.
Follieri, M., Magri, D., & Sadori, L. (1986). Late Pleistocene Zelkova Extinction in Central Italy. ''New Phytologist'' 103 (1): 269–273 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2434636 Abstract]
Flora of North America: [http://www.fna.org/FNA/Volume/V01/Chapter03.shtml History of North American Vegetation]
IUCN: [https://archive.today/20080311232410/http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/our_work/plants/Top50/English/Zelkova_sicula_EN.htm ''Zelkova sicula'']
[http://www.bgci.org/files/survey-zelkova.pdf Global Survey of ''Ex situ Zelkova'' collections] Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI)
Kozlowski, Gratzfeld et al., p. 13
[http://dennisyoung-kagu.blogspot.com/2011/02/zelkova-serrata.html Furniture maker: Dennis Young]
[http://temperate.theferns.info/plant/Zelkova+serrata ''Zelkova serrata'']

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