Winged Elm
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| Ulmus alata Michx. |
The Winged Elm Ulmus alata Michx., or Wahoo, is a small- to medium-sized deciduous tree endemic to the southern and south-central United States. It reaches its best development on the silty uplands of the Mississippi, and Delta where it can attain 27 m (89 ft) in height, although the trunk diameter rarely exceeds 60 cm (24 in). The canopy form is variable, from pyramidal to rounded. As its common name implies, the tree is most easily recognized by the very broad, thin pair of corky wings that form along the branchlets after a couple of years. The leaves are small, < 65 mm (2.5 in) long and < 20 mm (0.8 in) broad, oblong-lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, thin in texture, and smooth above. The wind-pollinated perfect flowers are borne on long pedicels in March and April before the leaves appear. The reddish samarae are relatively small, < 8 mm long, narrowly elliptic with two long incurving stigmas at the tip, and usually disperse by the end of April.
The tree is tolerant of a wide range of soils, and of ponding, but is the least tolerant of the North American elms of shade. However, it can still be found in woodland although its growth in that environment is very slow, the trunk increasing in diameter by < 5mm (0.2 in) per annum. Like its compatriots, the species is very susceptible to Dutch elm disease and elm phloem necrosis.
The Winged Elm is of minimal commercial significance, its hard timber considered no more remarkable than that of other American elms, and of limited use because of the commonly small size of the trees. The tree is occasionally considered a nuisance as it readily invades old fields, forest clearings and rangelands, proving particularly difficult to eradicate with herbicides. The tree is rarely found beyond its natural range, although it remains in commercial cultivation in the USA and occasionally in Europe.
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[edit] Cultivars
[edit] Hybrid cultivars
U. alata is not known to have been hybridized.
[edit] Arboreta etc. accessions
[edit] North America
- Arnold Arboretum, acc. no. 404-95, wild collected.
- Bartlett Tree Experts [1], acc. no. 1438, unrecorded provenance.
- Morton Arboretum, acc. no. 116-96, wild collected Papoose Lake, Illinois.
[edit] Europe
- Brighton & Hove City Council, UK, NCCPG Elm Collection [2].
- Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, acc. no.
- Thenford House, Northamptonshire, UK. No details available.
[edit] Nurseries
[edit] North America
Widely available.
[edit] Europe
- Grange Farm Plants, Spalding, Lincs. UK.
- Plantentuin Esveld, Netherlands[3].
[edit] Synonymy
- Ulmus pumila (not L.) Walter, Fl. Carol., 111, 1788.
[edit] References
- Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. pp 1848-1929. Private publication. [4]
- University of Florida, Environmental Horticulture Department (1994). Fact Sheet ST-648. Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
[edit] External links
- http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/Volume_2/ulmus/alata.htm Ulmus alata Michx.
