 Loddiges' 1830 catalogue lists the two separately.Robertson stated that 'The Black Irish Elm' took its name from its dark chestnut-coloured young shoots, and that it made a slender, erect tree when old.Loudon described the tree as of moderate size, with a spreading habit like wych elm, but comprising rather irregular, contorted branches bearing much smaller, more rugose leaves, of a much deeper green than the species.