Arkansas Tree Database

Scientific name:

Ulmus Americana

Size:

100' tall by 100' wide

Leaves:

alternate, simple, 3"-6" long, unsymmetrical at base with one side rounded and one wedge-shaped, double-toothed, smooth above, pointed at the tip

Flowers:

small in drooping clusters, not showy; February-March

Fruit:

small, rounded, wafer-shaped, notched at tip, called a samara, in clusters; March-April

Fall Interest:

yellow; deciduous

Culture:

sun to partial sun; rich, moist soil but adaptable

Disease/Insect:

Dutch elm disease, a fungus introduced about 1930 and spread by elm bark beetles

Use:

vase shape with high arching branches makes the ideal street tree if not for pests

Cultivars:

'Liberty,' 'Valley Forge' and others with resistance to Dutch elm disease

Notes:

bark thick, ashy gray to gray, with irregular, broad, flat-topped, interlacing ridges; an incision in the bark will reveal alternate layers of red and yellow; in the open, trunk forks once or more near the ground, giving the tree its vase-like or inverted conical shape; larval host for butterflies; native to Arkansas