Shape with a round branchy top; to 70 ft. tall. Bark gray, scaly, rough. Twigs slender, tough. Leaves 3-5 in. long, light yellow green below, with downy tufts in the axils of the veinlets. Range: Cape Breton to the Black Hills, s. to Fla. and e. Tex. The wood is heavy, hard, tough, used for tool handles, woodenware, etc. This shady graceful tree is birch-like in form and bark, but beech-like in leaf; its autumn foliage being clear yellow. IRONWOOD (Carpinus caroliniana) is a similar but smaller tree, the trunk frequently forking near the ground, bark close and blue-gray; stem and branches fluted and sinewy. Nutlet not enclosed in a hop-like bag as in the Hop Hornbeam, but borne on a papery bract. This graceful, leaning tree, with scarlet autumn leaves, is also called Blue Beech. Que. to Minn., Fla. and Tex.
White Elm
WHITE ELM
(Ulmus americana)
Shape, with a broadly umbrella-form top, up to 120 ft. tall. Trunk often forking. Bark light gray, scaly and fissured. Branches very numerous but only at the tip where they spread upwards like the spokes of an umbrella, drooping at the ends. Leaves rough above, paler beneath, a bright clear yellow in autumn. Range: Throughout the e. half of the United States; n. to Newf.; reaching the Rockies from Sask. to Colo. This magnificent tree characterizes stream banks and valleys in the wild, and in cultivation the old villages, manor grounds, and colleges of the northeastern states. CORK ELM (Ulmus racemosa) has twigs and undersides of leaves downy even at maturity. Branchlets finally corky winged. Middle West and Tenn. to Que. and nw. N. E. Both kinds are used for hubs, beams of heavy agricultural implements and boats.
Slippery Elm
SLIPPERY ELM
(Ulmus fulva)
Shape with a broad, open, flat topped head: 60-70 ft. tall. Bark dark brown tinged with red, divided by shallow fissures and covered by large scales. Twigs stout, bright green, rough and downy. Leaves very scratchy above, densely downy beneath, turning dull yellow in autumn. Range: Throughout the e. half of the country and se. Can. A massive, handsome tree, whose wood is used for agricultural implements, fence posts and ties. The thick fragrant inner bark of the branches is mucilaginous and was formerly used as a chewing-stick; it is employed in medicine against inflammations. CEDAR ELM (Ulmus crassifolia) differs from all other elms in being autumn-flowering. From the above it differs in its corky winged pendulous branchlets and broader, shorter, lustrous leaves. A handsome tree. Miss. to s. Ark, w. Tex. and adj. Mex.
