Mexican Elm

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ulmus mexicana

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Ulmaceae
Genus:	Ulmus
Species:	U. mexicana

Binomial name

Ulmus mexicana
(Liebm.) Planch.

Synonyms

Chaetoptelea mexicana Liebm.

The Mexican Elm Ulmus mexicana (Liebm.) Planch. is probably the tallest of all the elm species, occasionally reaching a height of 67 m (218 feet), and certainly one of the tallest trees in Mexico. It is most commonly found in cloud forest and the higher elevations of tropical rain forest, ranging from San Luis Potosi south to Chiapas in Mexico, and from Guatemala to Panama beyond. A specimen grown in a botanic garden 11 m above sea level in Sydney, Australia, tolerates minimum winter temperatures of 6 deg. Celsius. Apart from its size, the tree is also distinguished by deep, longitudinal channels along its grey trunk. The crown is deep, its dense foliage casting a heavy shadow. The leaves vary widely in size from 3 - 16 cm in length by 2 - 7 cm breadth, elliptic to ovate, surface glossy, but dull on the underside, with petioles 5 - 10 mm long. The tree is also distinguished by its long, racemose inflorescences (< 7 cm) which flourish between December and February; the small samarae, which are covered with long straight hairs, are shed in March.

Although much of its natural range is threatened by deforestation, the tree is singularly unpopular in the timber trade on account of its deeply fluted trunk, and thus not considered a threatened species.

1 Arboreta etc. accessions
2 References
3 External links

[edit] Arboreta etc. accessions

[edit] North America

Jardin Botanico Francisco Javier Clavijero [1], Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Details not known.

[edit] Europe

None known

[edit] Australasia

Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Sydney, Australia, acc. no. 851550

[edit] References

Moreira, I. & Arnaez, E. (2003) Ulmus mexicana (Liebm.) Planch., Tropical Tree Seed Manual, p. 770-771, RNGR, USDA Forest Service, USA. [2]
Todzia, C. A. & Panero, J. L. (2006). A new species of Ulmus (Ulmaceae) from southern Mexico and a synopsis of the species in Mexico. Brittonia, Vol 50, (3): 346.