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+URTICACEAE+
+Slippery Elm. Red Elm+
_Ulmus fulva Michx._ [_Ulmus p.u.b.escens Walt._]
HABIT.--A medium-sized tree 40-60 feet high, with a short trunk 1-2 feet in diameter; spreading branches form a broad, open, flat-topped crown.
LEAVES.--Alternate, simple, 4-7 inches long, about one-half as broad; ovate-oblong; coa.r.s.ely doubly serrate; thick and firm; dark green and rough above, paler and somewhat rough beneath; petioles short, stout, hairy.
FLOWERS.--March-April, before the leaves; mostly perfect; borne on short pedicels in crowded fascicles; calyx campanulate, 5-9-lobed, green, hairy; corolla 0; stamens 5-9, with dark red anthers; stigmas 2, reddish purple.
FRUIT.--May; semi-orbicular, 1-seeded samaras, short-stalked in dense cl.u.s.ters; seed cavity brown-tomentose; wings smooth, nearly 3/4 inch long.
WINTER-BUDS.--Terminal bud absent; lateral buds ovoid, obtuse, dark brown, rusty-tomentose, 1/4 inch long.
BARK.--Twigs at first bright green and p.u.b.escent, becoming light to dark brown or grayish; thick on old trunks, dark red-brown, shallowly fissured into large, loose plates; inner bark mucilaginous.
WOOD.--Heavy, hard, strong, very close-grained, durable, easy to split while green, dark red-brown, with thin, lighter colored sapwood.
DISTRIBUTION.--Of frequent occurrence throughout the state.
HABITAT.--Prefers stream-banks and bottom-lands; rich, moist hillsides; rocky ridges and slopes.
NOTES.--Grows more rapidly than _U. americana_.
[Ill.u.s.tration: +White Elm. American Elm. Water Elm+
1. Winter twig, 2.
2. Leaf, 1/2.
3. Flowering branchlet, 1/2.
4. Flower, enlarged.
5. Fruit, 2.]
+URTICACEAE+
+White Elm. American Elm. Water Elm+
_Ulmus americana L._
HABIT.--A tree 75-100 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 2-6 feet; commonly dividing 20-30 feet above the ground into a few large branches which rise upward and outward to form a vase-shaped outline.
LEAVES.--Alternate, simple, 4-6 inches long, one-half as broad; obovate-oblong to oval; coa.r.s.ely doubly serrate; thick and firm; dark green and rough above, pale and p.u.b.escent or glabrous beneath; petioles short and stout.
FLOWERS.--March-April, before the leaves; mostly perfect; small, brown to red; borne on slender pedicels in loose fascicles; calyx campanulate, 5-9-lobed; corolla 0; stamens 4-9, with bright red anthers; ovary 2-celled; styles 2, green.
FRUIT.--May; ovate, 1-seeded samaras, smooth both sides, hairy on the margin, 1/2 inch long, long-stemmed in crowded cl.u.s.ters.
WINTER-BUDS.--Terminal bud absent; lateral buds ovoid, acute, flattened, glabrous, brown, 1/8 inch long.
BARK.--Twigs at first light green and downy, becoming glabrous, red-brown, finally ash-gray; on old trunks thick, ash-gray, deeply fissured into broad, scaly ridges.
WOOD.--Heavy, hard, strong, tough, difficult to split, coa.r.s.e-grained, light brown, with thick, lighter colored sapwood.
DISTRIBUTION.--Common throughout the state.
HABITAT.--Prefers deep, rich, moist loam; bottom-lands; stream-banks.
NOTES.--Grows rapidly. Long-lived. The roots run along near the surface of the ground for a great distance. An ideal street tree.
[Ill.u.s.tration: +Cork Elm. Rock Elm+
1. Winter twig, 1.
2. Portion of twig, enlarged.
3. Leaf, 1.
4. Flowering branchlet, 1.
5. Flower, enlarged.
6. Fruit, 1.]
+URTICACEAE+
+Cork Elm. Rock Elm+
_Ulmus racemosa Thomas_ [_Ulmus Thomasi Sarg._]
HABIT.--A large tree sometimes reaching a height of 100 feet and a trunk diameter of 5 feet, but usually somewhat smaller; strongly drooping lateral and lower branches form a narrow, oblong crown.
LEAVES.--Alternate, simple, 3-6 inches long, one-half as broad; obovate to oblong-oval, more or less dished; coa.r.s.ely doubly serrate; thick and firm; l.u.s.trous, dark green above, pale-p.u.b.escent beneath; petioles p.u.b.escent, 1/4 inch long.
FLOWERS.--March-April, before the leaves; mostly perfect; greenish; borne on slender, drooping pedicels in loose racemes; calyx campanulate, 7-8-lobed; corolla 0; stamens 7-8, with purple anthers; ovary hairy, 2-styled.
FRUIT.--May; ovate, 1-seeded samaras, p.u.b.escent all over, 1/2 inch long.
WINTER-BUDS.--Terminal bud absent; lateral buds ovoid, acute, brown, pilose, 1/4 inch long.
BARK.--Twigs at first light brown and p.u.b.escent, becoming l.u.s.trous, red-brown, finally gray-brown with corky, wing-like ridges; thick and grayish on the trunk, with wide fissures separating broad, flat, scaly ridges.
WOOD.--Heavy, very strong and tough, close-grained, light red-brown, with thick, lighter colored sapwood.
DISTRIBUTION.--Frequent in the southern third of the Lower Peninsula.
HABITAT.--Dry, gravelly uplands; rocky ridges and slopes; heavy clay soils; river-banks.
