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WINGED ELM (Vlmus alata Michx.) 



THE winged elm gets its common name from the 

 thin corky growth, or "wings," usually fouid on 

 the smaller branches. It occurs scattered generally 

 over the State except in the mountains, usually on 

 dry, gravelly uplands, but often in moist soils and 

 in waste places. It grows rapidly in moist situa- 

 tions, and at the same time is one of the best trees 



for planting along road- 

 sides in dry poor loca- 

 tions. It is compara- 

 tively free from disease, 

 though not notably 

 long-lived. This elm is 

 a medium-sized tree of 

 40 to 50 feet in height 

 and rarely as large as 

 2 feet in diameter. It 

 forms a rather open, 

 round-topped head. The 

 bark is light brown, 

 tinged with red, and 

 divided into irregular 

 flat ridges and fissures. 



The leaves are simple, alternate, 2 to 4 inches 

 long and 1 to 2 inches broad, coarsely double-toothed, 

 thick, dark green and smooth above, and pale and 

 softly downy below. They are smaller than those 

 of any other elm native in the State. The flowers 

 appear in early spring, long before the leaves unfold. 

 The fruit ripens in the spring about the time the 

 leaves appear ; it is winged, tipped with 2 small in- 

 curved awns, or beaks, oblong, reddish brown, about 

 one-third of an inch long, with a long slender stalk 

 at the base, and covered with white hairs. 



The wood is very similar to that of the other 

 elms — heavy, hard, strong and difficult to split. It 

 is occasionally used for hubs and mauls. Formerly, 

 rope made of the inner bark was used for binding 

 the covers to cotton bales. 



WINGED ELM 

 Two-thirds natural size. 



49 



