Ulmus boissieri Grudz. is a little known species found in Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

, identified by Irina Grudzinskaya in 1977. The tree is endemic to the Zagros forests, with Quercus brantii, Celtis australis

Celtis australis

Celtis australis, commonly known as the European nettle tree, Mediterranean hackberry, lote tree, or honeyberry, is a deciduous tree that can grow 20 or 25 meters in height....

, Platanus orientalis

Platanus orientalis

Platanus orientalis, or the Oriental plane, is a large, deciduous tree of the Platanaceae family, known for its longevity and spreading crown. The species name derives from its historical distribution eastward from the Balkans, where it was recognized in ancient Greek history and literature....

, Fraxinus sp., and Cerasus mehaleb

NB Richens

Richard Hook Richens

Richard Hook Richens was a former Director of the Commonwealth Bureau of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Cambridge University, and became best known for his studies of elm...

 treated U. boissieri as Ulmus minor .http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0g49AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA279&lpg=PA279&dq=ulmus+wyssotzky&source=bl&ots=ZOBXkCNqaj&sig=4u_Wan9HOmHkEgc8ssTvxyd1iQ4&hl=en&ei=dnQySsz7IYWOjAfvt7X9CQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10#PPP1,M1

Description

The species is easily distinguished by its small leaves and fruits. The ovate

Leaf shape

In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...

, toothed leaves are 1.5 - 3 cm long, 1.2 - 2 cm broad, typically asymmetric at the base, the upper surfaces glabrous. The leaf veins number from 8 to 12; the petiole

Petiole (botany)

In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...

  2 - 3 mm long. The perfect apetalous wind-pollinated flowers are minute; the suborbiculate samara

Samara (fruit)

A samara is a type of fruit in which a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue develops from the ovary wall. A samara is a simple dry fruit and indehiscent . It is a winged achene...

e 7 - 9 mm in diameter, with the seed located in the centre.

Etymology

The species is named for Pierre Edmond Boissier

Pierre Edmond Boissier

Pierre Edmond Boissier was a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.He was the son of Jacques Boissier and Lucile Butini , daughter of Pierre Butini a well-known physician and naturalist from Geneva...

(1810-1885), Swiss botanist and explorer who collected many plants in western Asia.