36 
OPAQ.UE LEAVED ELM. 
simple, or forked nerves; the base of the leaf is oblique, 
as well as the whole outline, and one half of the leaf is 
much narrower than the other; the nerves are pubes- 
cent. The young branches are smooth and brownish. 
The leaves, before complete development, are canes- 
cently tomentose and attended by large oblong mem- 
branous brown stipules. The taste of the plant is astrin- 
gent, but no way mucilaginous. 
This remarkable species appears to be nearly allied 
to Ulmus chinensis , judging from the short description in 
Persoon and Duhainel. The flowers are fasciculated in 
small numbers and on short peduncles. The samara is 
elliptic, rather deeply bifid at the summit, covered with 
a dense and somewhat ferruginous pubescence even 
when ripe. 
Of the uses and quality of the timber of this species, 
I am unable to speak from experience, as it grew re- 
mote from the settlements at that time established in 
the territory. The density of shade produced by it, so 
crowded with rigid leaves, and the peculiarity of its 
appearance, entitle it to a place in the nurseries of the 
curious, and it is probably quite hardy enough for all 
temperate climates. To this species Virgil’s epithet — 
“ Foecundse frondibus ulmi” — 
might more justly be applied than to any other. 
Plate XI. 
A branch of the natural size. 
