American Elm
(Wide & Flat: Alternate Arrangement) |
| A large and highly prized shade tree. The drooping crown often
gives it a vase-shaped appearance. Found locally throughout Pennsylvania, mainly
on moist areas. The hard, tough wood has many uses, including the manufacture
of boxes, barrels and furniture. |

Ulmus americana L
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| Leaves |
| Alternate, simple, 4"-6" long, unequal at
the base, rather rough on the upper surface; usually soft-hairy below; veins prominent;
margin coarsely toothed. Petiole short. |
| Twigs |
| Slender, zigzag, brown, or slightly hairy. Leaf buds
1/8"- 1/4" long, flattened. Flower buds larger, below leaf buds. Bud
scales red-brown, smooth or downy; margins dark. |
| Fruit |
| A seed surrounded by an oval, thin papery wing, 1/2"
long, deeply notched at the tip; ripening in spring and borne in clusters; wing
with scattered hairs along margin. Flowers and fruit appear before the leaves,
as is true of Slippery elm. |
| Bark |
| Dark gray to gray-brown with long corky ridges; separated
by diamond-shaped fissures on older trees. |
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