American Elm (White Elm) (Trees of Manitoba)

American Elm (White Elm)

Ulmus americana

Traditional Indigenous Names ³

Cree: Wápiski Acapaskátik
Ojibwe: Aniib
Dakota: Wagha chan/tazhushka chan

Summary from Wikipedia ⁴

Ulmus americana, generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species native to eastern North America, naturally occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to Florida and central Texas. The American elm is an extremely hardy tree that can withstand winter temperatures as low as −42 °C (−44 °F). Trees in areas unaffected by Dutch elm disease can live for several hundred...

Easy identifiers ³

American Elm have an umbrella shaped crown when growing in the open. Bark is grey and furrowed and flakes off easily, their bark does not form any kind of pattern unlike ash trees which have a repetitive diamond shape pattern. When a piece of bark is broken off, an alternation or 'wafering' of brown and white can be seen in its cross section.

Form ³

A large deciduous tree, slender in dense stands but branching from near the ground in open areas, its limbs large and spread giving it a graceful, vase-like appearance.

Bark ³

Dark-grey, rough, furrowed when old.

Twigs ³

Alternate, slender, smooth or hairy; terminal buds conical, about 5 millimetres (1/8 inch) long, reddish-brown, somewhat hairy; lateral buds smaller. Flower buds rounder, larger. Leaf scars nearly oval, tan, with about five prominent bundle scars across middle. Lenticels common, yellowish-brown, elongated.

Leaves ³

Alternate, simple, oval, sharp-pointed, unequal at base, coarse double-toothed, 10 - 15 centimetres (3 - 6 inches) long.

Flowers ³

Before leaves, small purplish or yellowish, on long stems in loose drooping clusters.

Fruit ³

Oval, dry, one-seeded, flattened, winged with a hairy margin, about 8 - 10 millimetres (1/2 inch) in diameter, usually notched at tip.

Occurrence ³

Southern part of province on rich, moist, well-drained habitats.

Fun facts ³

American Elm are a good tree to plant everywhere because they enrich the soil when their leaves fall and decompose. Elm leaves are full of potassium and calcium and when they rapidly decompose those nutrients are released back into the soil.
Dutch elm disease is a fungal disease that effects American Elm, it is transferred from tree to tree by bark beetles. Dutch elm disease eventually causes the tree to die.

Sources and Credits

(c) Manitoba Forestry, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Manitoba Forestry
(c) Chris Poling, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Chris Poling
(c) Manitoba Forestry, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Adapted by Manitoba Forestry from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulmus_americana

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