The wood is heavy, tough, and difficult to split. It is used for making the hubs of wheels and for flooring, cooperage, and boat-building.
The generic name, Ulmus, comes from ulm or elm, the Saxon name of the tree, the specific name explains itself. The American elm is found from Newfoundland to Florida and as far west as the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains.
Slippery or Red Elm Ulmus pubescens
A medium-sized tree, 45 to 60 feet high. The twigs are gray and bristled, unlike the smooth twigs of the white elm. Alternate leaf-scars, which are more conspicuous than those of the white elm. The buds are larger and rounder than those of the white elm; they are soft and downy, and are covered with reddish brown hairs. The inner bark is very mucilaginous.
Country boys know the slippery elm for its sweet mucilage, just as they know the shagbark for its nuts, the sassafras for its aromatic roots, and the spruce for its gum; and this mucilaginous characteristic is a certain means of determining the tree.
In form it is less drooping than the white elm and it is also much smaller. The hairy buds give the whole tree a reddish color in spring, and from this it probably takes the name of red elm; the slippery elm is a more characteristic name however, as few trees have such a slippery inner bark. These hairy brown buds are among the prettiest to be found on any trees in winter. Compared with the smooth, hard buds on many trees, they are what soft, long-haired Angoras are to ordinary cats.
The wood is strong, hard, and close-grained and is used for making posts, railroad ties, and agricultural implements. The inner bark is used for inflammatory diseases and externally for poultices.
The specific name, pubescens (down or soft hair), refers to the pubescence on the buds and leaves and along the recent shoots.
YOUNG CORK ELM
Ulmus racemosa