TREE lovers are asked to keep their eyes peeled for elms and send pictorial evidence to be added to a dataset compiled by Kew Gardens.

Elm champions David Shreeve and Mark Seddon are the authors of a widely acclaimed book with photographs by Sam Ford: Great British Elms - The Remarkable Story of An Iconic Tree and its Return from the Brink.

Among the elms featured are examples in Truro, Newlyn East, Restormel, Tregiskey (near St Austell), Cadgwith Cove, Lands End and Scilly.

“Spring is the perfect time to spot an elm,” explains David. “Once warmer weather and longer days come in March and April, we hope people will look out for this year’s crop and send a picture to the Conservation Foundation with details of the tree’s location. It will be added to a dataset previously compiled by RBG Kew, with the support of Defra, to map existing elms in Britain.”

The pale-green, red-tinted blossom makes elms easy to spot. But after Dutch elm disease killed millions of trees and devastated the landscape disease in the 1970s, it was widely accepted that the elm was gone for ever.

However, a growing number of experts and enthusiasts, including His Majesty the King, refused to accept the end of the elm, believing that some would resist the disease and the chainsaw and that by keeping the flame of hope burning, new species would continue to grow and play a role in Britain’s biodiversity.

David’s love of elms goes back to 1979 when he became involved in planting disease-resistant trees brought from the USA. Elm projects continue to be an important part of the work of The Conservation Foundation, which he set up with the late David Bellamy in 1982.

People are asked to send their elm blossom pictures with the date seen and location (postcode if possible) to [email protected]