Elm branches against the sky
Elm branches against the sky
Elm flowers
Elm flowers
Elm samaras
Elm samaras
American elm – papery samaras with hairy edges clustered on a twig
American elm – papery samaras with hairy edges clustered on a twig
Elm leaves
Elm leaves
Elm leaf with oblique or uneven base
Elm leaf with oblique or uneven base

Plant Characteristics:

  • Tree: 75 to 100 ft tall; crown vase shaped
  • Bark: dark grey, divided into irregular flat topped ridges; inner bark reddish-brown layers
  • Twigs: slender with zig-zag appearance
  • Buds: egg shaped over 1/4 in long, reddish-brown with darker edged scales
  • Leaves: deciduous, alternate, simple, smooth to rough textured, 3 to 6 in long, oval with double-toothed edges, elongated tip slightly curved, base is uneven or oblique, petiole short
  • Fall Foliage: yellow
  • Flowers: small in drooping clusters of 3 to 5; first to appear in the spring before leaves
  • Fruit type: small seed encased in a rounded, flattened, papery hairs along the edge (ciliate), samara, deeply notched at the tip; wind dispersal

Additional Details:

  • In early spring, goldfinch and purple finches are attracted to the fruiting tree.
  • Also provides cover and nesting sites for birds.
  • Twigs are browsed by deer, cottontail rabbit, gray squirrel and fox squirrel.
  • Larval host to the Columbia silkmoth (Hyalophora columbia), Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa), Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma), Question Mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis), and Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui).

An introduced fungus, Dutch elm disease, began killing American elms in the 1930s. Selective breeding has produced some trees with resistance to the disease.

References:
Brown, R. and M. Brown. 1972. Woody Plants of Maryland. Port City Press, Baltimore, MD.
Foster, S. and J. Duke. 1990. A field guide to medicinal plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
Grimm, W. C. and J. Kartesz. 2002. The Illustrated Book of Trees. Stackpole Books. Mechanicsburg, PA.
Harris, J. and M. Woolf Harris. 1994. Plant Identification Terminology: An illustrated Glossary. Spring Lake Publishing, Spring Lake, UT.
Peterson, L. 1977. A field guide to edible wild plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
Virginia Department of Forestry. 2022. Common Native Trees of Virginia – Tree Identification Guide.
The Wildflower Center Staff. 2023. Plant Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The University of Texas at Austin.