ELM FAMILY 



They come out of the bud conduplicate, pale green and hairy, when 

 full grown are thick, firm, smooth, dark green above and paler 

 green beneath. Feather-veined. In autumn they turn a bright 

 clear yellow. Petioles short, hairy. Stipules ovate - lanceolate, 

 veined, green with red margins, clasping with united bases. 



Flowers. — March, April, before the leaves. Perfect, greenish, 

 borne in three-flowered clusters on long drooping pedicles. 



Calyx. — Campanulate, seven to eight-Iobed ; lobes oblong, 

 rounded. 



Corolla. — Wanting. 



Stamens. — Seven to eight, exserted ;, filaments light green ; an- 

 thers oblong, dark purple, extrorse, two-celled ; cells opening longi- 

 tudinally. 



Pistil. — Ovary superior, one-celled, hairy, with two styles ; ovule 

 solitary. '. " 



Fruit. — Samaras, winged all round, mature in May when leaves 

 are half grown, ovate, half an inch; long, faces downy, margin 

 densely ciliate ; wing narrow in proportion to the seed. 



Tlie Cork Elm is perhaps the most valuable tree of the 

 genus, as it possesses all the good qualities of the family 

 and none of the bad ones. It is strong, tough, easy to work, 

 takes a fine polish, in short, is so useful that it is likely to be 



exterminated. Its range is 

 quite limited, extending 

 through northern New York 

 and southern Michigan to 

 Nebraska, Missouri, and mid- 

 dle Tennessee. It is some- 

 times called the Hickory. Elm 

 and often the Cliff Elm. Its 

 leaves are about the size of 

 those of the White Elm and 

 Samaras %' long. ^avc the elm shape, unequal 



at base, oval, doubly serrate 

 and acute. The tree may be known in the spring by the 

 raceme of drooping blossoms and later by its samaras. But 

 at any time, the irregular corky ridges which grow from 

 every side of the branches and branchlets give the tree a 

 strange shaggy appearance and mark it unmistakably. 



244 



Cork Elm, Vlmus racemosa. 



