THE COMMON ELM. 



Ulrrms sureulo'sa Stokes. 



Among our most characteristically English trees, the 

 Common Elm has yet but dubious claims to an exist- 

 ence in this country prior to the Roman occupation, 

 even if its introduction date back as far as that. The 

 name is but slightly altered from the Latin ulmus, 

 though still less so from the German form Ulme, 

 whilst but few of our townships take their names 

 from this tree, compared with the number called 

 after the Oak, Yew, or Holly. It is urged, moreover, . 

 that the Common Elm seldom ripens its seed in this 

 country, multiplying itself, unlike the Wych Elm, by 

 means of suckers. Its tufts of small flowers, often 

 conspicuous with red or purple anthers on the bare 

 boughs in the middle of leafless March, succeeded by 

 the clusters of pale green " samaras," as the botanists 

 term the flat-winged fruits, might well make us lay 

 the blame of the absence of ripe seed on our climate, 

 as being unnatural to the Elm. It is, however, no 

 exceptional circumstance that this species should not 

 ripen its seed in England, for it seldom does so in any 

 part of Europe or Asia, though the seedling varieties 

 raised by our nurserymen bear witness to the fact that 

 it does occasionally ripen a few seeds. 



Native or not native, the " hedge-row Elms " now 

 form a leading feature in most of our southern and 

 midland landscapes, in the avenues of our parks, or 



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