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THE WYCH ELM. 



stiff and stunted. The shoots on the young tree are conspicuous for 

 their sturdy growth ; their size is sometimes even disproportionate to 

 the branch that bears them. The bark is paler in colour, and the 

 twigs are smoother in texture than those of the English species. 

 Large excrescences sometimes appear on the trunk. 



THE FLOWER. 



The buds containing flowers generally hold the lowest places on 

 the shoot formed during the previous year. 



In March or April, before the leaf-buds burst, the flower-buds 

 expand and push aside the bud-scales, which soon fall, to disclose 

 a number of florets radiating from a single point. The florets are 

 crowded together, but as a rule rather less densely than is the case 

 with the English Elm. Each little floret has a minute stalk, and is 

 made up of five purple-red petals united into an elongated vase-shaped 



