Maine Tree
Species Fact Sheet
Common
Name:
Slippery
Elm (Red Elm)
Botanical
Name:
Ulmus rubra
Tree
Type: Deciduous
Physical
Description:
Growth Habit:
Slippery elm is a medium-sized tree of moderately fast growth that may
live to be 200 hundred years old. It grows best on moist, rich soils
of lower slopes and flood plains. The bark is thick; dark brown tinged
with red, divided by shallow fissures into flat ridges and covered with
flat scales. The inner bark is sticky when chewed. The twigs are light
gray in color, hairy, and somewhat rough. The alternate, simple,
elliptical and long-pointed leaves have doubly serrate margins and are
5-7 inches long. They are thick, rough, and dark green in color. The
undersides of the leaves are paler with white hairs and have a prominent
midrib and parallel veins.
Height:
Slippery elm grows to a height of 50 feet and has an average trunk
diameter of 2 feet.
Shape:
Slippery elm is an open-branched tree.
Fruit/Seed
Description/Dispersal Methods:
Slippery elm has inconspicuous, perfect flowers
that appear in the spring before the leaves. The seeds are small,
flattened and winged. They ripen from April to June and are dispersed
by the wind as soon as they are ripe.
Range within
Maine:
Slippery elm is
extremely rare in the state. It does however; occur naturally in
scattered locations in York and Franklin Counties. This species is
hardy to Zone 3.
Distinguishing
Features:
The inner bark and
twigs are chewy. The buds are tipped with rusty hairs.
Interesting
Features:
The name
“slippery” developed because of the mucilaginous inner bark, which was
chewed by pioneers to quench thirst. Today, the inner bark is used for
medicinal purposes.
The wood is heavy,
strong and durable and used for furniture, paneling, fence posts, barrel
staves, and containers. It is considered inferior to American elm.
Relationship to
Wildlife:
Birds and small
animals eat the seeds. Deer and rabbits browse the twigs.
Landscape Use:
The ornamental
value of slippery elm is limited and this species becomes a weed, as it
tends to infest unkempt shrub borders, hedges and fencerows.
Common Problems
or Pests of the Tree in Maine:
Slippery elm is susceptible to Dutch elm disease
but not the extent that the American elm is. The species is also
attacked by a variety of bark beetles, woodborers, cankerworms, aphids
and the elm sawfly.
References:
Forest Trees of
Maine, Twelfth Edition.
Maine Forest Service/Department of Conservation. 1995.
Know Your Trees.
Cope, J.A. and Fred E.
Winch, Jr. Cornell Cooperative Extension. 1992.
Manual of Woody
Landscape Plants, 5th Edition.
Dirr, Michael A.
Publishing L.L.C. 1998.
United States Dept. of Agriculture: Silvics of
North America
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/ulmus/rubra.htm
The Illustrated
Encyclopedia of Trees. More,
David and John White. Timber Press. 2002.
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