ELM. 



ELYMUS. 



and of a pale rose colour; the seeds are larger, 

 destitute of fringe, round, and very similar to 

 those of the European elm; they are ripe to- 

 wards the end of May. The leaves are oval- 

 acuminate, doubly denticulated, and larger, 

 thicker, and rougher than those of the white 

 elm. 



''The bark upon the trunk is brown; the 

 heart is coarser-grained and less compact than 

 that of the white elm, and of a dull red tinge. 

 I have remarked that the wood, even in branches 

 of one or two inches in diameter, consists 

 principally of perfect wood. This species is 

 stronger, more durable when exposed to the 

 weather, and of a better quality than the white 

 elm ; hence in the Western States it is em- 

 ployed with greater advantage in the construc- 

 tion of houses, and sometimes of boats on the 

 banks of the Ohio. It is the best wood of the 

 United States for blocks, and its scarceness in 

 the Atlantic States is the only cause of its 

 limited consumption in the ports. It makes 

 excellent rails, which are of long duration, and 

 are formed with little labour, as the trunk di- 

 vides itself easily and regularly; this is pro- 

 bably the reason that it is never employed for 

 the naves of wheels. 



"The red elrn bears a strong likeness to a 

 species or a variety in Europe known by the 

 name of Dutch elm. The leaves and the bark 

 of the branches, macerated in water, yield, like 

 those of the Dutch elm, a thick and abundant 

 mucilage, which is used for a refreshing drink 

 in colds, and for emollient plasters in place of 

 the marsh-mallow root, which does not grow 

 in the United States. 



"Though the red elm is superior to the 

 white elm, it is not equal to our European 

 species, and its culture cannot be generally 

 recommended. 



" Observation. In the district of Maine and 

 on the banks of Lake Champlain I have found 

 another elm, which I judged to be a distinct 

 species. Its leaves were oval-acuminate, rough, 

 and deeply toothed, but I have not seen its 

 flowers or its seeds. The length of its young 

 shoots announced a vigorous vegetation. It 

 is confounded in use with the white elm, to 

 which it is perhaps superior; it is found in the 

 nurseries of France, and probably it came ori- 

 ginally from Canada." (Michaux.j 



The red elm of the United States bears so 

 strong a resemblance to the Dutch elm, both in 

 foliage and fruit, that it is not always easy to 

 tell them apart. The species of elm known in 

 the South by the Indian name of Wahoo, is the 

 Ulmus alata of Michaux. It is a stranger to 

 the Northern and Middle States, and to the 

 mountainous regions of the Alleghanies; being 

 found almost exclusively in the lower part of 

 Virginia, in the maritime districts of the South- 

 ern States, in West Tennessee, and in some 

 parts of Kentucky. It prefers the banks of 

 rivers and great swamps, and attains a middle 

 size, commonly not rising higher than 30 feet, 

 with a diameter of 9 or 10 inches. The branches 

 of the wahoo are furnished throughout their 

 whole length, on two opposite sides, with a 

 fungous appendage or ridge, two or three lines 

 wide, from which the specific name, alata, 

 winged, is derived. The wood is fine-grained, 

 442 



more compact, heavier and stronger than that 

 of the American white elm. The heart is of a 

 dull red, approaching to chocolate-colour, and 

 always bears a large proportion to the sap. In 

 those parts of the country where it grows, it is 

 employed for coach-wheels, and is even pre- 

 ferred for this purpose to the black gum, as 

 being more hard and tough. 



Another American species of elm has been 

 discovered by Mr. Nuttall, who calls it the 

 Opaque-leaved elm. He found it in Arkansas, 

 on the plains of the Red river, 1100 miles 

 above its mouth, where it forms a majestic 

 forest tree. It is distinguished for the small- 

 ness and thickness of its oblique and usually 

 blunt leaves, which, with their short stalks, are 

 only about an inch in length by half an inch in 

 breadth, and very numerous. The taste of the 

 plant is astringent, and it is not mucilaginous. 



Mr. Nuttall considers this remarkable tree 

 to be nearly allied to the Chinese elm (Ulmus 

 Chinensis). Of the uses and quality of its wood 

 he does not speak. The density of shade pro- 

 duced by it, so crowded with rigid leaves, and 

 the peculiarity of its appearance, he says, en- 

 title it to a place in the nurseries of the curi- 

 ous, as he thinks it quite hardy enough for all 

 temperate climates. To this species, he re- 

 marks, Virgil's epithet, 



"Fsecundze frondibus ulmi," 



might be more justly applied than to any other. 

 (NuttalFs Sup. to Michaux.) 



An American species called Thomas's elm 

 (Ulmus racemosa), which has hitherto been con- 

 founded with other elms, is, according to Pro- 

 fessor Torrey, abundant in the western part of 

 the State of New York, and probably of the 

 Western States generally. Mr. Thomas, its 

 discoverer, found it in Cayuga county, New 

 York, and the adjacent country. G. B. Emer- 

 son, Esq., says that specimens have also been 

 obtained from Vermont, collected by Dr. Rob- 

 bins, so that it is probably both a northern and 

 western species. 



The lowermost stout branches, according to 

 Mr. Thomas, produce corky excrescences like 

 the Wahoo elm. For a further description, 

 see Eaton's North Amcr. Botany Silliman's Jour- 

 nal, vol. xix. p. 170, with a plate ; NuttaWs Sujj- 

 plement, p. 37. 



ELYMUS. The lyme grass. A genus of 

 large, rigid, or coarse grasses, mostly peren- 

 nial, growing frequently on the sea-coast. 

 Smith (Eng. Flora, vol. i. p. 177), describes 

 three native species: 1. Upright sea lyme 

 grass (E. amiarms). 2. Pendulous sea lyme 

 grass (E. geniculatus). 3. Wood lyme grass 

 (E. Europceus). The last is found in woods, 

 thickets, and hedges, on a chalky soil ; herb- 

 age of a grassy green ; stem erect, two feet 

 high, and striated. As Sinclair has treated 

 copiously of the proportional value of the dif- 

 ferent native and foreign species of Elymus, I 

 shall follow his classification. 



Elymus arenarius (Germ. Sand-haargras, PL 1 

 7, o). Upright sea lyme grass, starr, or bent, I 

 named from its upright, close spike. Its stalk 

 is not winged, and the leaves are spinous, 

 pointed. The calyx is lanceolate, the length 

 of the spikelets. The nutritive matter afforded 



