ELM. 281 



Description. — Common Elm is a lofty tree, sending off 

 strong, spreading, lateral branches ; when young, covered with 

 a smooth, very tough bark, becoming rugged by age ; heart- 

 wood yellowish brown. The leaves are alternate, ovate, ap- 

 proaching to rhomboid, acuminate, rough above, downy be- 

 neath, doubly and irregularly serrated, from one to three inches 

 long, and of a dark green colour. The flowers, which appear 

 before the leaves, are produced from distinct buds, in numerous 

 dense heads, each subtended by a small scale or bractea. The 

 perianth (calyx) is four-cleft, persistent, fringed, of a light red 

 or brownish colour. The four stamens are equal, smooth, 

 longer than the perianth, with large, roundish, purple, two-lobed 

 anthers. The germen is oblong, compressed, cleft, supporting 

 two spreading styles, each terminated by a stigma, which is 

 fringed on the upper edge, and ultimately dilated at the lower. 

 The capsule (a Samara) is membranous, compressed, winged all 

 round, indehiscent, and containing a single roundish seed. 

 Plate 18, fig. 1, (a) the perianth and stamens magnified ; (6) the 

 fruit. 



This is a tall, elegant tree, common in scattered woods and 

 hedge-rows, principally of the southern counties of England. 

 It is also a native of Barbary and Palestine, whence Dr. 

 Walker thinks it was introduced into this country by the cru- 

 saders. The flowers appear in March and April, and the fruit 

 ripens in June. 



The name Ulmus is derived from the Anglo-Saxon elm, — its 

 exact appellation also in Teutonic, Gothic, and nearly all the 

 Celtic dialects. 



There are six other species considered indigenous to Britain, 

 the chief of which are the Smooth-leaved Elm (U. glabra), 

 with ovate-lanceolate smooth leaves ; the Cork-barked Elm 

 (C/. suherosa'), distinguished by the cork-like covering of its 

 branches ; and the Wych Elm ( U. montana), easily recognized 

 by its large, spreading branches, and broad leaves appearing 

 just as the hop-like fruit comes to perfection *. 



The Elm was well known to the ancients ; and that it was 

 prized for its economical uses is sufficiently obvious from the 

 writings of Virgil and otliers, but they do not appear to have 



• See " Hooker's British Flora" and "Lindley's Synopsis." 



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