Handbook of the Trees of New England Part 20

2. In the umbrella form the trunk remains entire nearly to the top of the tree, when the branches spread out abruptly, forming a broad, shallow arch, fringed at the circ.u.mference with long, drooping branchlets.

3. The slender trunk of the plume elm rises, usually undivided, a considerable height, begins to curve midway, and is capped with a one-sided tuft of branches and delicate, elongated branchlets.

4. The drooping elm differs from the type in the height of the arch and greater droop of the branches, which sometimes sweep the ground.

5. In the oak form the limbs are more or less tortuous and less arching, forming a wide-spreading, rounded head.

In all forms short, irregular, pendent branchlets are occasional along the trunks. The trees most noticeably feathered are usually of medium size, and have few large branches, the superfluous vitality manifesting itself in a copious fringe, which sometimes invests and obliterates the great pillars which support the ma.s.ses of foliage. Conspicuous at all seasons of the year,--in spring when its brown buds are swollen to bursting, or when the myriads of flowers, insignificant singly, give in the sunlight an atmosphere of purplish-brown; when clothed with light, airy ma.s.ses of deep green in summer or pale yellow in autumn, or in winter when the great trunk and mighty sweep of the arching branches distinguish it from all other trees. The roots lie near the surface and run a great distance.

=Bark.=--Dark gray, irregularly and broadly striate, rather firmly ridged, in very old trees sometimes partially detached in plates; branches ash-gray, smooth; branchlets reddish-brown; season's shoots often p.u.b.escent, light brown in late fall.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds ovate, brown, flattened, obtuse to acute, smooth. Leaves simple, alternate, 2-5 inches long, 2-3 inches wide, dark green and roughish above, lighter and downy at first beneath; outline ovate or oval to obovate-oblong, sharply and usually doubly serrate; apex abruptly pointed; base half acute, half rounded, produced on one side, often slightly heart-shaped or obtuse; veins straight and prominent; leafstalk stout, short; stipules small, soon falling. Leaves drop in early autumn.

=Inflorescence.=--April. In loose lateral cl.u.s.ters along the preceding season's shoots; flowers brown or purplish, mostly perfect, with occasional sterile and fertile on the same tree; stems slender; calyx 7-9-lobed, hairy or smooth; stamens 7-9, filaments slender, anthers exserted, brownish-red; ovary flat, green, ciliate; styles 2.

=Fruit.=--Ripening in May, before the leaves are fully grown, a samara, 1/2 inch in diameter, oval or ovate, smooth on both sides, hairy on the edge, the notch in the margin closed or partially closed by the two incurved points.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows in any soil, but prefers a deep, rich loam; the ideal street tree with its high, overarching branches and moderate shade; grows rapidly, throws out few low branches, bears pruning well; now so seriously affected by numerous insect enemies that it is not planted as freely as heretofore; objectionable on the borders of gardens or mowing land, as the roots run along near the surface for a great distance. Very largely grown in nurseries, usually from seed, sometimes from small collected plants.

Though so extremely variable in outline, there are no important horticultural forms in cultivation.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XLVIII.--Ulmus Americana.]

1. Winter buds.

2. Flowering branch.

3. Flower, side view.

4. Fruiting branch.

5. Mature leaf.

=Ulmus fulva, Michx.=

_Ulmus p.u.b.escens, Walt._

SLIPPERY ELM. RED ELM.

=Habitat and Range.=--Rich, low grounds, low, rocky woods and hillsides.

Valley of the St. Lawrence, apparently not abundant.

Maine,--District of Maine (Michaux, _Sylva of North America_, ed. 1853, III, 53), rare; Waterborough (York county, Chamberlain, 1898); New Hamps.h.i.+re,--valley of the Connecticut, usually disappearing within ten miles of the river; ranges as far north as the mouth of the Pa.s.sumpsic; Vermont,--frequent; Ma.s.sachusetts,--rare in the eastern sections, frequent westward; Rhode Island.--infrequent; Connecticut,--occasional.

South to Florida; west to North Dakota and Texas.

=Habit.=--A small or medium-sized tree, 40-60 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 1-2-1/2 feet; head in proportion to the height of the tree, the widest spreading of the species, characterized by its dark, hairy buds and rusty-green, dense and rough foliage.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk brown and in old trees deeply furrowed; larger branches grayish-brown, somewhat striate; branchlets grayish-brown, rough, marked with numerous dots, downy; season's shoots light gray and very rough; inner bark mucilaginous, hence the name "slippery elm."

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds ovate to rounded-cylindrical, acute or obtuse, very dark, densely tomentose, very conspicuous just before unfolding. Leaves simple, alternate, 4-8 inches long, 3-4 inches wide, thickish, minutely hairy above and woolly beneath when young, at maturity pale rusty-green and very rough both ways upon the upper surface, scarcely less beneath, rough and hairy along the ribs; sweet-scented when dried; outline oblong, ovate-oblong, or oval, doubly serrate; apex ac.u.minate; base more or less heart-shaped or obtuse, inequilateral; leafstalk short, rough, hairy; stipules small, soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--March to April. Preceding the leaves, from the lateral buds of the preceding season, in cl.u.s.ters of nearly sessile, purplish flowers; sterile, fertile, and perfect on the same tree; calyx 5-9-lobed, downy; corolla none; stamens 5-9, anthers dark red; ovary flattened; styles two, purple, downy.

=Fruit.=--A samara, winged all round, 3/4 inch in diameter, roundish, p.u.b.escent over the seed, not fringed, larger than the fruit of _U.

Americana_.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; does well in various situations, but prefers a light, sandy or gravelly soil near running water; grows more rapidly than _U. Americana_, and is less liable to the attacks of insects; its large foliage and graceful outline make it worthy of a place in ornamental plantations. Propagated from seed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XLIX.--Ulmus fulva.]

1. Winter buds.

2. Flowering branch, 3. Flower, top view.

4. Flower, side view, part of perianth and stamens removed.

5. Pistil.

6. Fruiting branch.

=Ulmus racemosa, Thomas.=

CORK ELM. ROCK ELM.

=Habitat and Range.=--Dry, gravelly soils, rich soils, river banks.

Quebec through Ontario.

Maine,--not reported; New Hamps.h.i.+re,--rare and extremely local; Meriden and one or two other places (Jessup); Vermont,--rare, Bennington, Pownal (Robbins), Knowlton (Brainerd), Highgate (Eggleston); comparatively abundant in Champlain valley and westward (T. H. Haskins, _Garden and Forest_, V, 86); Ma.s.sachusetts,--rare; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--not reported native.

South to Tennessee; west to Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri.

=Habit.=--A large tree, scarcely inferior at its best to _U. Americana_, 50-75 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 2-3 feet; reaching in southern Michigan a height of 100 feet and a diameter of 5 feet; trunk rather slender; branches short and stout, often twiggy in the interior of the tree; branchlets slender, spreading, sometimes with a drooping tendency; head rather narrow, round-topped.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk brownish-gray, in old trees irregularly separated into deep, wide, flat-topped ridges; branches grayish-brown; leaf-scars conspicuous; season's shoots light brown, more or less p.u.b.escent or glabrous, oblong-dotted; branches and branchlets often marked lengthwise with corky, wing-like ridges.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds ovate to oblong, pointed, scales downy-ciliate, p.u.b.escent. Leaves simple, alternate, 3-4 inches long, half as wide, glabrous above, minutely p.u.b.escent beneath; outline ovate, doubly serrate (less sharp than the serratures in _U. Americana_); apex ac.u.minate; base inequilateral, produced and rounded on one side, acute or slightly rounded on the other; veins straight; leafstalk short, stout; stipules soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--April to May. Appearing before the leaves from lateral buds of the preceding season, in drooping racemes; calyx lobes 7-8, broad-triangular, with rounded edges and a mostly obtuse apex: pedicels thread-like, jointed; stamens 5-10, exserted, anthers purple, ovary 2-styled: stigmas recurved or spreading.

=Fruit.=--Samara ovate, broadly oval, or obovate, p.u.b.escent, margin densely fringed, resembling fruit of _U. Americana_ but somewhat larger.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; prefers a moist, rich soil, in open situations; less variable in habit than the American elm and a smaller tree with smaller foliage, scarcely varying enough to justify its extensive use as a subst.i.tute. Not often obtainable in nurseries, but readily transplanted, and easily propagated from the seed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE L.--Ulmus racemosa.]

1. Winter buds, at the time the flowers open.

2. Flowering branch.

3. Flower, side view.

4. Flower, side view, perianth and stamens partly removed.

5. Fruiting branch.