Tree species: Field elm (Ulmus carpinifolia)
Location: Monheimsallee
Trunk circumference: 3.51 meters
Trunk height: 23 meters
Age: around 150 years old
This elm tree is one of the few elms in the city of Aachen that was spared the elm dieback of the 1970s. Elm dieback, which has been spreading since the 1920s, is caused by infection with a fungus. When drilling into the wood, infected elm splint beetles transfer the fungus to the tree. The fungus clogs the tree's vascular system, causing first the leaves, then the branches and finally the entire tree to die. The drastic decline in Central Europe is a major genetic loss. All elm species (wych elm, mountain elm and field elm) are still threatened.
