The Elms and the Hackberries 



bloom very late in the summer. One, found in Georgia and 

 Tennessee, was confused with U. Thomasi until its flowers were 

 found opening in the axils of the season's leaves in the month of 

 September! This discovery set it apart as a separate species, 

 and it was named from its red-brown wood, the Red Elm (U. 

 serotina), by Professor Sargent. The specific name means late. 



The Cedar Elm (L^. crassijolia, Nutt.), of Arkansas, Texas 

 and Mississippi, blooms in August. Occasionally this tree reaches 

 a height of 80 feet, with broad, spreading limbs and slender, 

 pendulous branches. It is a beautiful, graceful tree; its tiny 

 leaves, close set on the winged twigs, form a dense head of lustrous 

 foliage. Occasionally a second crop of flowers appears in October. 



There seems to be no better reason for its common name than 

 that it grows with cedars on the dry limestone hills of Texas. It 

 is the common elm tree of that great state, and is sometimes 

 planted as a shade tree. Its lumber is used for fencing and for 

 wheel hubs, the better qualities being cut in the moist lowlands. 

 In dryer situations it is scarcely worth cutting even for fuel. 



2. Genus CELTIS, Linn. 



The hackberries include fifty or sixty tropical and temperate 

 zone species. Two are trees in North America, but future inves- 

 tigations may still further divide the group. They are trees of 

 considerable value for shade and ornamental planting. Beside 

 the two natives, three exotic species are in cultivation in the south, 

 and a hardy Japanese species farther north. Of the former, one 

 is from South Africa, one from the Mediterranean basin, and the 

 third from China and Japan. 



Hackberry, Nettle Tree, Sugar Berry (Celtis occidenialis, 

 Linn.) Tree, 50 to 125 feet, with slender trunk and round head, 

 of very slender, bushy twigs and pendulous branches. Barh light 

 brown or pale grey, broken into thick warts or scales by deep fur- 

 rows; branches often corrugated and warty. Wood light yellow^ 

 heavy, soft, coarse, weak. Buds axillary, never terminal ; acute, 

 ovate, small. Leaves simple, alternate, ovate, 2h to 4 inches long, 

 often fulcate, oblique at base, serrate above widest part, entire 

 below it; thin, deep green, with downy lining; 3-nerved, from 

 slim petiole; autumn colour yellow. Flowers, May, monoecious, 



236 



