ULMACEAE 117 



both sides, bright green above, 3-10 cm. long, on a very short stalk. 

 Flowers appear with the leaves, greenish. Fruit an ovoid or globose 

 drupe, purple-black, about 8 mm. long with more or less persistent styles. 

 Korea, Japan and China. (Kiangsu, Kiangsi, and Kwangtung.) 



ZELKOVA 



Deciduous unarmed trees or shrubs. Leaves simple, alternate, 2- 

 ranked, pinnately veined, serrate, short stalked, stipulate. Flowers 

 polygamo-monoecious; pistillate solitary, in axils of upper leaves; 

 staminate, 2-5 in the axils of the lower leaves; apetalous ; calyx lobes 

 4-5; stamens 4-5; ovary sessile; styles 2. Fruit a small drupe, sub- 

 globose, oblique; style persisting as 2 minute beaks; 1-seeded. The 

 fiuits persist on the tree till the following spring. 



About 4 species in Eastern Asia, Caucasus, Crete. 



Zelkova yields the highest-priced lumber of any tree in Japan. The 

 wood is beautifully grained, resembling the elmwood in structure, is as 

 tough and pliable as the ash and more durable than the oak in contact 

 with the soil. The sapwood is white and narrow, separated from the 

 brown heartwood by a reddish band. On account of its beautiful 

 markings as well as its susceptibility to a high polish, the wood is used 

 in Japan for fancy trays, lacquer ware, high grade cabinets and other 

 furniture. It is also suitable for house, ship, and carriage building. 



For posts, pillars, and gateways it is unsurpassed by any other wood 

 in durability. Zelkova is very rapid growing and attains 100 feet in 

 height or more; trees, on moderately favorable situations, measuring 5 

 feet in girth at 60 years, 9 feet in girth at 120 years, cannot be said to 

 have made phenomenal growth. On deep alluvial soil, the rate of 

 increase is even more rapid. Zelkova serrata is one of the most important 

 hardwoods available to Chinese foresters for experimentation, and its 

 extensive cultivation is likely to promise results of great practical value. 

 On account of its tendency to form side branches, Zelkova should be 

 subjected to a certain amount of crowding when young. The seedlings 

 stand considerable shade. 



An ounce contains between 20,000 and 25,000 seeds. Germination 

 sets in 4 or 5 weeks after sowing, although some of the seeds do not 

 germinate until the second year. The seeds are sown in well prepared 



