Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra)

Form

Height 50 to 70 feet, diameter 16 to 24 inches; main branches frequently extend at right angles to trunk to form broad, open, flat-topped crown.

Bark

Frequently 1 inch thick, dark greenish-brown; broken by shallow fissures into flat ridges. Winter buds covered by brown, silky hairs.

Leaf

Alternate; 4 to 6 inches in length; ovate, sharp-pointed, base not symmetrical, double toothed on margin; thick, dark green and rough on both sides; turns to yellowish color before falling.

Fruit

A samara; seed surrounded by thin, broad, greenish wing; diameter about 1/2 inch; ripens when leaves are about 1/2 grown.

Range

Distributed over the entire state, but is rare in the northern portion and is usually found on banks of streams and fertile hillsides.

Wood

Dark brown with light-colored sapwood; close-grained, rough, strong, heavy, hard, moderately durable; used for fence posts, ties and agricultural implements; inner bark of trunk and branches once used to some extent for medicinal purposes.

Notes

Susceptible to Dutch Elm disease. Inner bark is fragrant, and when chewed becomes mucilaginous and slippery, whence the tree gets its name.