Habitat.—Prefers rich bottom lands.
Notes.—The American or White Elm is one of the most valuable and magnificent trees of the United States. Its wood is extensively used where toughness is desired, as in wagon hubs. It grows to a very large size and over a wide range, and is unsurpassed in elegance of form and other characteristics which make it valuable for park and street planting. In low wet grounds it may be grown for forestry purposes.
HACKBERRY
Celtis occidentalis, L.
Form.—Height 25-80 feet, diameter up to 30 inches; trunk long when in close stands with other trees; crown spreading or round.
Leaves.—Alternate, simple, ovate, narrowed to sharp points, rounded oblique base, coarsely serrate, rough above, with prominent veins, light yellow-green. The leaves are soft hairy beneath and pilose above when young.
Flowers.—May, with the leaves; monoecious, or with some perfect flowers; the staminate on drooping pedicels at base of season’s growth; the pistillate, few-flowered in axils of the upper leaves, greenish and small.
Fruit.—Ripens in September, a berry-like drupe, ¼ to ½ inch thick, dark purple, sweet and edible, on slender pedicels, often remaining on the tree during the winter.