The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Monstrosa' [: "monstrous", "strange"], a shrub-elm with fasciated branching, is believed to have originated in France, where it was first listed by Lavallée[1] in Arboretum Segrezianum (1877)[2] as a form of Field Elm, Ulmus campestris var.
[4] Hartwig in Illustrirtes Gehölzbuch (1892) followed with Ulmus scabra monstrosa,[5] an error repeated by Krüssman (1962)[6] and by Green (1964),[3] with their U. glabra Huds.
f. nana monstrosa Schneid.,[8] leading to confusion with the more common (and still cultivated) dwarf elm Ulmus glabra 'Nana' (see 'Cultivation').
[11] This description of the cultivar as a compact shrub, however, dates from its early days in cultivation, and the ultimate size of 'Monstrosa', if it survives, is unknown.
[13] A specimen obtained from Späth as U. montana monstrosa and planted in 1916, stood in the Ryston Hall arboretum, Norfolk,[14] in the early 20th century.