[E] Generic characters of the Ulmi. Calyx campanulate, inferior, 4 to 5-cleft, persistent. Corolla none. Fruit a membranous, compressed, winged capsule (a samara), 1-seeded.
There stood the Elme, whose shade, so mildly dim,
Doth nourish all that groweth under him.
W. Browne.
The Common Elm (U. campestris), after having assumed the dignity and hoary roughness of age, is not excelled in grandeur and beauty by any of its brethren. In this latter stage, it partakes so much of the character of the oak, that it is easily mistaken for it; though the oak—such an oak as is strongly marked with its peculiar character—can never be mistaken for the Elm. "This defect, however," says Gilpin, "appears chiefly in the skeleton of the Elm. In full foliage, its character is better marked. No tree is better adapted to receive grand masses of light. In this respect, it is superior both to the oak and the ash. Nor is its foliage, shadowing as it is, of the heavy kind. Its leaves are small, and this gives it a natural lightness; it commonly hangs loosely, and is in general very picturesque."
The Elm is not frequently met with in woods or forests, but is more commonly planted in avenues or other artificial situations. Cowper very accurately sketches the variety of form in the Elm, and alludes to the different sites where they are to be found. In the Task, he first introduces them rearing their lofty heads by the river's brink:
—There, fast rooted in his bank,
Stand, never overlooked, our favourite Elms,
That screen the herdsman's solitary hut.
Then he gives us an enchanting scene, where a lowly cot is surrounded by them:
'Tis perched upon the green hill-top, but close
Environed with a ring of branching Elms,
That overhang the thatch.
He then introduces us to a grove of Elms:
—The grove receives us next;
Between the upright shafts of whose tall Elms
We may discern the thrasher at his task.