348 



The Elms 



The name "winged" elm is with reference to the plentiful development of corky 

 wings on its branches; it is also commonly known as Wahoo, 



The bark is thin, shallowly fissured, scaly 

 and light reddish brown. The young twigs 

 are ver}^ finely and sparingly hair\', or quite 

 smooth, and usually develop corky wings which 

 are long-persistent. The leaves are oblong 

 to oblong-ovate or oblong-lanceolate, sharp- 

 pointed, often curved, thick, rather coarsely 

 doubly toothed, and 8 cm. long or less; the 

 upper surface is dark green, dull and smooth 

 at maturity, the lower surface lighter green 

 and hairy, at least along the numerous promi- 

 nent veins; the leaf-stalks are seldom more 

 than 5 mm. long and the large thin stipules 

 fall away early. The tree blooms in earliest 

 spring before the leaves unfold; the drooping 

 flowers are in small, smooth clusters, with a 

 5-lobed calyx about one half the length of the 

 stamens, and a short hair\' ovar}^ The samaras are oblong or elHptic, hairy all 

 over, long-fringed on the edges, 6 to lo mm. long, the 2 long beaks shghtly in- 

 cur\'ed. 



The wood is hard, light brown, difficult to work, and not strong; it has a lim- 

 ited use for tool-handles; the specific gravity is about 0.75. The tree is much 

 planted for shade and ornament in the southern States, but is not certainly hardy 

 much to the north of New York City. 



Fig. 305. Winged Elm. 



5. WHITE ELM Ulmus americana Linnaeus 

 Ulmus floridana Chapman 



This, the largest of our elms, ranges from Newfoundland to Florida, westward 

 to Saskatchewan, South Dakota, western Kansas, and Texas. It reaches its 

 greatest development in moist soil, but grows well on hillsides and uplands. In 

 New England it sometimes attains a height of about 40 meters, with a buttressed 

 trunk occasionally 3.5 meters in diameter, but in the southern parts of its area it 

 is much smaller. The main branches are usually nearly upright. It is also 

 called Swamp elm and American elm. 



The thick bark is fissured into flat ridges, gray and scaly. The young green 

 twigs are either smooth or quite hairy, soon become reddish brown, and do not 

 develop corky ridges. The oval to obovate leaves are abruptly pointed, 5 to 15 

 cm. long, sharply and usually doubly toothed, dark green and either smooth or 

 roughish on the upper surface, paler and hair\^ on the under side, at least along 

 the veins; the stipules, which are sometimes 2 cm. long, fall away much before the 



