The Hunt for the World's Oldest Elm Tree
And "The Elm Hunters" makes its unofficial debut
A thought struck me the other day as I was pondering trees and, specifically, elm, after the planting of a scion of the former Beauly Priory elm that came down last year after roughly 800 years of existence. The news articles always referred to the tree as Europe’s oldest elm or wych elm (Ulmus glabra), and I suddenly thought, “I bet it might have been the world’s oldest elm!” I say that with a tiny bit of authority as I have been called “The Elm Guy” by a few people, but there are a few active elm guys and gals across the UK and beyond. My thinking was that elms mostly occur in Europe, America, and Asia ranging over thirty species, the dominant ones being wych elm, field elm, white elm, American elm, Chinese elm, and Japanese elm. There are some in New Zealand and Australia, but we can discount those straight away as they were introduced by settlers in the 19th century (still, an interesting group to think about, though!). The wych elm’s range finds itself running from southern Scandinavia, through Russia, down to Greece, and across to the fringe of Iran. Elm is a species that can normally live anywhere up to 300-400 years old.
Oldest wych elms: San Lorenzo, Italy (left) and former champion 800 year-old Beauly Priory elm (right)
A pair of English (or field - minor) elms in Brighton, known as the Preston elms, claimed to be the oldest elms in Europe until their demise in 2021. However, this appears to have been overreaching somewhat as, just around 600 miles north, the Beauly elm (which died not long after the Preston elms) was twice their age. They were not even the oldest elms in the UK (though, perhaps, in England).
Now, was the Beauly elm the oldest elm in Europe, or even the world? It was definitely the oldest elm in the UK, but in the city of Sliven in Bulgaria, in the centre of one of the streets, is the Old Elm. This tree won European Tree of the Year in 2014, and is estimated to be in the region of a staggering 1100 years old. The elm is officially a Millennial Tree (a tree species that can reach the age of 1000 years)! This has relegated the former Beauly elm to second in Europe, though it still would have held on to the crown of the oldest wych elm in Europe, if not the world. The current wych elm champion is in San Lorenzo, Italy – another plaza-bound tree – and has been standing there for roughly 724 years.
The oldest elm in the world? Presiding over the Sliven streets in Bulgaria
Some other notable elms
Let’s return to Bulgaria, in Dolni Voden, which is home to the oldest white elm (Ulmus Laevis), sheltering passersby for 624 years. The eldest American elm (Ulmus americana), according to the Monumental Trees site, is a 324 year-old tree to be found in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. In the Netherlands, the eldest Dutch elm (Ulmus x hollandica) is 224 years old. (What is it about the number 24?!) In Australia, a 184 year-old elm, classed as an English elm (Ulmus procera), graces the streets of Tumut.
An honourable mention for the Japanese zelkova (Zelkova serrata), a close relative of the elm tree family: the city of Keyaki de Higashine, Japan, has a resplendent 1503 year-old tree. It’s a whopper!
1500 year-old giant Zelkova, the elm’s cousin
Still, I am skirting around the issue: tracking down the oldest elm in the world may be difficult if they are not recorded by a local person onto a database. Currently, the Old Elm of Bulgaria seems to be the oldest elm in the world, and the elm of Beauly Priory may very well have been the oldest wych elm in the world. I am sure there are many unrecorded vast ancient elms out there that could challenge these crowns, and I hope enthusiasts can help me track them down – perhaps, an elm trip is in order!
This Week in Trees
We received formal approval for our new work-based BSc Honours in Forestry and Treescapes Management at the Scottish School of Forestry, for enrolment from 2025/2026.
We had the last meeting of our Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project developing a deer deterrent this week. This has been an initiative between National Trust Scotland and UHI Inverness.
In a world premiere, I performed a reading of The Elm Hunters – my children’s book about conserving the wych elm – to attendees at today’s Young Woodland Gardens Open Day in Assynt. Official launch coming soon!
“We’ll search for the elm who stand and fight!”
It was so sad when the Beauly elm came down. But it's quite incredible that so many trees have survived for so long given our propensity for destruction!