106 



ULMACE^E. 



a declining, or more or less pendent form. The leaves 

 are smaller than those of many of its varieties, with the 

 exception of the U. c. 

 viminalis and U. c. hetu- 

 la folia, ; they are doubly 

 toothed or serrated, rough 

 and harsh to the touch, 

 of a dark green when ma- 

 tured, and slightly shin- 

 ing ; like those of all the 

 other Elms, they are un- 

 equal at the base, as shown in the figure, and broadest 

 in the middle, tapering towards each end. The mid and 

 cross ribs proceeding from it are prominent and strongly 

 marked. The flowers, which appear before the leaves, are 

 in tufts upon the shoots of the preceding year, and are of 

 a purplish red colour ; the samera, or seed capsule is oblong, 

 deeply cleft on one side, and smooth. The seed is common- 

 ly imperfect, though trees of the species do occasionally 

 mature it, and to this circumstance, and the self-sowing 

 of these perfect seeds, we must attribute the origin of 

 many of the varieties, or rather subvarieties, recorded in 

 different districts in the south of England. 



Whether the English Elm be indigenous to Britain, 

 or was introduced from Italy in the time of the Romans, 

 must remain a matter of conjecture, as we possess no 

 record or evidence of so early a date, that enlightens 

 us as to its origin. Its cultivation, however, from time 

 immemorial, and the various localities in the south to 

 which its name seems to have been attached in the times 

 of the Anglo-Saxons, are, we think, proofs sufficient to 

 confute and set aside the supposition of its having been 

 brought from Palestine during the time of the crusades. 



