The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Hillieri' arose from a chance seedling at Hillier's Pitt Corner nursery near Winchester, England, in 1918, and was marketed from 1928 as "Ulmus hillieri", a name accepted by Christine Buisman in her 1931 labelling of a specimen in France. Since at least 1944 the tree has been determined a form of "Ulmus" × "hollandica", its designation at Kew Gardens, in Green, and in later Hillier catalogues. In 1940, 'Hillieri' was noted as being a hybrid of uncertain origin. Krüssmann notes that for a time the tree was listed by Hilliers as "U." × "hillieri".