American Elm
Ulmus americana L.
Also known as White Elm or Soft Elm.
Mature Size: 75 to 100 feet in height and 2 to 4 feet in diameter.
Form: Straight or forked trunk and arching vase-shaped crown; trunk may be enlarged at the base.
Habitat: Most common on bottomlands and other fertile, moist soils.
Leaves
Alternate, simple, smooth to slightly rough-textured, 4 to 6 inches long, oval, with double-toothed edges, a long, slightly curved point and an uneven base.
Flowers
Small, in drooping clusters of 3 to 5; appearing in early spring before the leaves.
Fruit
Small seed encased in a rounded, flattened, papery, wafer-like covering with fuzzy edges, deeply notched at tip, 3/8 to ½ inch across; fruits clustered on long stems, ripening in early spring.
Bark
Dark gray, divided into irregular, flat-topped, thick ridges separated by diamond- shaped fissures; inner bark shows layers of reddish brown and buff.
Twigs
Slender, smooth, slightly zigzag, reddish brown; buds egg-shaped, over ¼ inch long, reddish brown with darker edged scales, often set a little to one side of the twig.
Values and Uses
The wood is heavy, hard, strong, tough and difficult to split. Although seldom harvested today, it was once used for furniture, hardwood dimension, flooring, construction and mining timbers, crates, baskets and paper pulp. The seeds and flower buds are eaten by birds and small mammals. This tree was once among the most popular and beautiful of landscape and city street trees.
Did You Know?
An introduced fungus, Dutch elm disease, began killing American elms in the 1930s. Selective breeding has produced some trees with resistance to the disease. Large, valuable trees are occasionally treated with costly trunk injections of fungicide, a technique which manages but does not cure the disease.
