Ghost of a flea

On the basis of the new survey and historical evidence, Dr Luis Gil and colleagues in Madrid propose today in the journal Nature that the English elm is the same as the Atinian elm - a tree that can reproduce asexually but not by seed - which originated in Italy. This elm was used to train vines for wine production, as recommended by Columella, an influential Spanish author of a "how-to" book on agriculture written in AD50.