Ulmus rubra

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"Red Elm" redirects here. For the community in the United States, see Red Elm, South Dakota.

Ulmus rubra
Mature cultivated slippery elm (Ulmus rubra)

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Ulmaceae
Genus: Ulmus
Subgenus:
U. subg. Ulmus
Section:
U. sect. Ulmus
Species:
U. rubra
Binomial name
Ulmus rubra
Natural range of Ulmus rubra
Synonyms
  • Ulmus americana L. var. rubra Aiton
  • Ulmus crispa Willd.
  • Ulmus dimidiata Raf.
  • Ulmus elliptica Anon.[3]
  • Ulmus fulva Michx., Loudon, Bentley & Trimen, Sarg.
  • Ulmus Heyderi Späth
  • Ulmus pinguis Raf.
  • Ulmus pubescens Walter

Ulmus rubra, the slippery elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America. Other common names include red elm, gray elm, soft elm, moose elm, and Indian elm.

Description

Ulmus rubra is a medium-sized

wind-pollinated flowers are produced before the leaves in early spring, usually in tight, short-stalked, clusters of 10–20. The reddish-brown fruit is an oval winged samara, orbicular to obovate, slightly notched at the top, 12–18 mm (15⁄32–23⁄32 in) long, the single, central seed coated with red-brown hairs, naked elsewhere.[5]

  • Downy leaf bud and flower buds of U. rubra
    Downy leaf bud and flower buds of U. rubra
  • U. rubra flowers
    U. rubra flowers
  • U. rubra fruit
    U. rubra fruit
  • Asymmetrical leaf of Ulmus rubra
    Asymmetrical leaf of Ulmus rubra
  • Mature trunk bark
    Mature trunk bark
  • Slippery elm, Chippewa National Forest, Minnesota, 1923
    Slippery elm, Chippewa National Forest, Minnesota, 1923
  • Downy leaf-buds and seed area of samarae
    Downy leaf-buds and seed area of samarae
  • "Old Indian Elm at Maumee, O"
    "Old Indian Elm at Maumee, O"

Similar species

The species superficially resembles

wych elm (U. glabra), which has a very similar flower structure, though lacks the pubescence over the seed.[7]
U. rubra is chiefly distinguished from American elm by its downy twigs, chestnut brown or reddish hairy buds, and slimy red inner bark.

Taxonomy

The tree was first named as part of

Gotthilf Muhlenberg. The slightly later name U. fulva, published by French botanist André Michaux in 1803,[9] is still widely used in information related to dietary supplements and alternative medicine
.

Etymology

The specific epithet rubra (red) alludes to the tree's reddish wood, whilst the

mucilaginous
inner bark.

The reddish-brown heartwood lends the tree the common name 'red elm'.

Distribution and habitat

The species is native to eastern North America, ranging from southeast North Dakota, east to Maine and southern Quebec, south to northernmost Florida, and west to eastern Texas, where it thrives in moist uplands, although it will also grow in dry, intermediate soils.[10]

Ecology

Pests and diseases

The tree is reputedly less susceptible to Dutch elm disease than other species of American elms,[11] but is severely damaged by the elm leaf beetle (Xanthogaleruca luteola).[12][unreliable source?]

  • Red elm bark browsed by horses, Marshall, Illinois
    Red elm bark browsed by horses, Marshall, Illinois

Hybrids

In the central United States, native U. rubra hybridizes in the wild with the

Siberian elm (U. pumila),[13][14] which was introduced in the early 20th century and has spread widely since, prompting conservation concerns for the genetic integrity of the former species.[15]

Cultivation

The species has seldom been planted for ornament in its native country. It occasionally appeared in early 20th-century US nursery catalogues.

Winchester, Hampshire, from 1945, with 20 sold in the period 1970 to 1976, when production ceased.[20][21]

U. rubra was introduced to Europe in 1830.[8]

There are no known cultivars, though Meehan misnamed

'Lincoln'
is sometimes erroneously listed as U. rubra 'Lincoln'.

Hybrid cultivars

U. rubra had limited success as a hybrid parent in the 1960s, resulting in the cultivars

'Revera'[23] although neither is known to have been released to commerce. In Germany, the tree formed part of a complex hybrid raised by the Eisele nursery in Darmstadt, provisionally named 'Eisele H1'; patent pending (2020).[24]

Uses

The American Woods

Food

The

mucilaginous inner bark of the tree is edible raw or boiled,[25] and was eaten by Native Americans. The bark can also be used to make tea.[26]

Medicinal

The species has various traditional medicinal uses. The inner bark has long been used as a

powder
, then made into a tea.

Timber

The timber is not of much importance commercially, and is not found anywhere in great quantity.[7] Macoun considered it more durable than that of the other elms,[28] and better suited for railway ties, fence-posts, and rails, while Pinchot recommended planting it in the Mississippi valley, as it grows fast in youth, and could be utilized for fence-posts when quite young, since the sapwood, if thoroughly dried, is quite as durable as the heartwood.[29] The wood is also used for the hubs of wagon wheels, as it is very shock resistant owing to the interlocking grain.[30] The wood, as 'red elm', is sometimes used to make bows for archery. The yoke of the Liberty Bell, a symbol of the independence of the United States, was made from slippery elm.[citation needed]

Baseball

Though now outmoded, slippery elm tablets were chewed by spitball pitchers to enhance the effectiveness of the saliva applied to make the pitched baseball curve. Gaylord Perry wrote about how he used slippery elm tablets in his 1974 autobiography, Me and the Spitter.[31]

Miscellaneous

The tree's fibrous inner bark produces a strong and durable fiber that can be spun into thread, twine, or rope

starting fires with the bow-drill method, as it grinds into a very fine flammable powder under friction.[citation needed
]

Culture

Notable trees

A tree in

Westmount, Quebec, Canada, measured 4.27 m (14 ft) in girth in 2011.[32][33] The US national champion, measuring 7.16 m (23+1⁄2 ft) in circumference and 27.4 metres (90 ft) tall, with an average crown spread of 25.18 metres (82+1⁄2 ft) wide, grows in Kentucky.[34] Another tall specimen grows in the Bronx, New York City, at 710 West 246th Street, measuring 31 m (102 ft) high in 2002.[35] In the UK, there is no designated Tree Register
champion.

Accessions

North America

Europe

Australasia

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T61967382A61967384.en
    . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Ulmus rubra". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  3. ^ Plantago, Plant Index: Ulmus rubra
  4. ^ Hillier & Sons. (1990). Hillier's Manual of Trees & Shrubs, 5th ed.. David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK
  5. ^
    ISBN 9780719517907
  6. ^ Missouri Botanical Garden, Ulmus rubra
  7. ^
    ISBN 9781108069380
  8. ^
    ISBN 0-304-36192-5
    .
  9. ^ Michaux, A. (1803). Flora Boreali-Americana ("The Flora of North America")
  10. ^ Cooley, John H.; Van Sambeek, J. W. (1990). "Ulmus rubra". In Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H. (eds.). Hardwoods. Silvics of North America. Vol. 2. Washington, D.C.: United States Forest Service (USFS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – via Southern Research Station.
  11. ^ "Ulmus rubra". Illinois State Museum.
  12. ^ "Elm Leaf Beetle Survey". Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  13. S2CID 7294817
    .
  14. ISSN 2153-733X
    .
  15. ^ 'Conservation status of red elm (Ulmus rubra) in the north-central United States', elm2013.ipp.cnr.it/downloads/book_of_abstracts.pdf. Cached pp. 33–35
  16. ^ Frederick W. Kelsey, Descriptive catalogue, no. 55, N.Y., 1906
  17. ^ "Herbarium specimen - E00824848". Herbarium Catalogue. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Sheet described as U. fulva; "Herbarium specimen - E00824847". Herbarium Catalogue. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Sheet described as U. fulva, RBGE specimen from Späth nursery 1902
  18. ^ Accessions book. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. 1902. pp. 45, 47.
  19. ^ "List of Living Accessions: Ulmus". Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  20. ^ Hillier & Sons (1977). Catalogue of Trees & Shrubs. Hillier, Ampfield, UK.
  21. ^ Hillier & Sons Sales inventory 1962 to 1977 (unpublished).
  22. ^ Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. 24 (6–8). Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University: 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  23. ^ Santamour, Frank S; Susan E Bentz (May 1995). "Updated checklist of elm (Ulmus) cultivars for use in North America". Journal of Arboriculture. 21 (3): 122–131.
  24. ^ Brookes, Andrew (2020). "Disease resistant elm cultivars" (PDF). Hampshire & Isle of Wight Branch Butterfly Conservation.
  25. ISBN 0-394-50760-6
    .
  26. OCLC 799792
    .
  27. ISBN 978-0-7295-3796-4
    ., quote:

    Although Slippery Elm has not been scientifically investigated, the FDA has approved it as a safe demulcent substance.

  28. ^ Macoun, J. M. (1900). The Forest Wealth of Canada, p. 24. Canadian Commission for the Paris International Exhibition 1900.
  29. ^ Pinchot, G. (1907). U S Forest Circular, no.85.
  30. ^ a b Werthner, William B. (1935). Some American Trees: An intimate study of native Ohio trees. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. xviii + 398.
  31. ^ Anderson, Dave (August 9, 1973). "Gaylord Perry's Confession". The New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  32. ^ Ulmus rubra, Cedar Crescent, Westmount, Quebec
  33. ^ 'L'Orme Rouge ou l'Indian Elm de la rue Cedar Crescent'
  34. ^ "Slippery Elm – KY". American Forests. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  35. ISBN 0-231-12835-5
  36. ^ "List of plants in the {elm} collection". Brighton & Hove City Council. Retrieved 23 September 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Ulmus rubra.
Wikisource has the text of a 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article about Ulmus rubra.
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