Elm facts for kids

For other uses, see Elm (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids Elm

Mature Slippery Elm
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Ulmaceae
Genus:	Ulmus L.
Species
See Elm species, varieties, cultivars and hybrids

Elms are tall, beautiful trees found across the Northern Hemisphere. This includes places from chilly Siberia to warm Indonesia, and from Mexico to Japan. Most elms are deciduous trees, meaning they lose their leaves in the fall. Some are semi-deciduous, losing leaves only in certain conditions.

Elm trees have leaves that grow in an alternating pattern along the branch. Their leaves are usually pointed at the tip and a bit uneven at the base. The edges of the leaves are often saw-toothed.

Elm flowers are special because each flower has both male and female parts. This means they are hermaphroditic. Their flowers don't have petals and are pollinated by the wind. The fruit of an elm tree is a small, round, winged seed called a samara. Elms can take many decades to grow into a full-sized tree.

What Elms Look Like
- Elm Leaves and Seeds
Elms in Gardens and Cities
- The Challenge of Dutch Elm Disease
- Elm Trees Today
Other Ways Elms Are Used
Protecting Elm Trees
Famous Elm Trees
Elms in Art
Images for kids
See also

What Elms Look Like

Elm trees are known for their tall, often vase-like shape. They can grow very high, sometimes with a trunk that splits into a wide, open form.

Elm Leaves and Seeds

Elm leaves grow in an alternating pattern. They have simple edges or, more often, double-saw-toothed edges. The base of the leaf is usually uneven, and the tip is sharply pointed.

The fruit of an elm is a round, winged seed called a samara. These seeds are spread by the wind. They are often green, which helps them make food from sunlight even before the tree's leaves fully appear.

Elm trees can grow in many different types of soil and pH levels. However, most kinds need good drainage, meaning the soil shouldn't stay too wet.

'Sapporo Autumn Gold' elm in Florence, Italy
Leaves and seeds of a Wych elm (Ulmus glabra)
Notice the uneven base of a Slippery Elm leaf (U. rubra)
The bark of a mature Slippery Elm (U. rubra)
Flowers of the 'Columella' elm, a special type of elm
The unique corky wings on a Winged Elm (U. alata)
A samara (winged seed) from U. laciniata
An American elm (U. americana) in Toronto, around 1914

Elms in Gardens and Cities

A Camperdown elm (Ulmus 'Camperdown') in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York

An avenue of elm trees in Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne

For hundreds of years, people have planted elms to make places look beautiful. One of the oldest types, the narvan elm, was grown in Persia long ago for shade.

From the 1700s to the early 1900s, elms were very popular. They were planted in cities and towns to create lovely tree-lined avenues. People liked them because they grew fast and had many different leaf shapes and forms. Elms could also handle air pollution and their leaves broke down quickly in the fall.

In North America, the American elm was a favorite. It grew fast, adapted to many climates, had strong wood, and resisted wind damage. Its vase-like shape also meant it didn't need much pruning. In Europe, the wych elm and Field Elm were common.

The Challenge of Dutch Elm Disease

Around the time of World War I, a serious problem started: Dutch elm disease. This disease is caused by a fungus called Ophiostoma ulmi. It made many elm trees sick and caused them to die. The disease got even worse in the 1960s with a new, stronger type of fungus called Ophiostoma novo-ulmi. This was a very sad time for elm trees.

Elm Trees Today

Since the 1990s, things have gotten better for elms! Scientists have developed new types of elms that are much more resistant to Dutch elm disease. Now, there are over 300 known types of elms, both old and new. Even though some older types were lost, new ones are being planted.

However, some people are still careful about planting elms. This is because earlier disease-resistant trees released in the 1960s and 1970s didn't always do well. But the newer elms are much stronger.

Other Ways Elms Are Used

Elm Wood

Elm wood

Elm wood was used in boat-building, as shown in this painting by John Constable from 1815.

An English longbow made from elm wood.

Elm wood is special because its grain is "interlocking." This means it's very hard to split, which makes it great for certain things. It was used for parts of wagon wheels, seats of chairs, and even coffins. In Japan, the bodies of large Taiko drums are often made from old elm trees because the wood won't split when nails are hammered into it.

Elm wood can also bend well and is quite flexible. Its long, straight trunks were perfect for making the keels (bottom parts) of ships. People who make bows also love elm wood. Many ancient bows found in Europe were made of elm. During the Middle Ages, elm was used for longbows when yew wood wasn't available.

Ancient writings show that elm wood was used a long time ago. In ancient Greece, parts of ploughs were made from elm.

Elm wood is also good at resisting rot when it's always wet. Because of this, hollowed-out elm trunks were used as water pipes in Europe during the medieval period. Elm was even used for the piers (supports) of the original London Bridge. However, it doesn't resist rot well when it's in contact with the ground.

Growing Grapes

The Romans, and later Italians, used to plant elms in their vineyards. They would cut the elms to about three meters tall. The elms grew quickly, had many small branches, provided light shade, and sent out new shoots from their roots. This made them perfect supports for grapevines. The cut branches were then used to feed animals or for firewood. People even talked about the "marriage" between the elm and the vine!

Medicinal Uses

The inner bark of the Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra) has been used for a long time as a soothing medicine. It's still sold today in the United States as a nutritional supplement.

Animal Food

Elms have also been grown for a long time to feed livestock. Farmers would cut the leafy branches to give to their animals. This practice still happens in the Himalaya mountains today.

Energy Source

As we look for new energy sources, trees like elms are becoming more important. In Italy, scientists are developing very fast-growing elm types. These trees can grow more than 2 meters (6 feet) taller each year, making them good for producing bioenergy.

Food for People

During a big famine in Norway in 1812, the bark of elm trees was cut into strips and boiled. This helped many people in the countryside survive. Elm seeds are also very nutritious, with a lot of protein.

An internal mill-wheel made of elm wood in the De Hoop mill, Oldebroek, Netherlands.

Bonsai

A Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia) grown as a bonsai.

The Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia) is a popular choice for bonsai (the art of growing miniature trees). This is because it can handle being pruned very severely.

Protecting Elm Trees

In 1997, a project was started in the European Union to help save elm trees. The goal was to protect all the different types of elms and see how well they could resist Dutch elm disease. More than 300 different elm types were chosen and grown to be tested.

Famous Elm Trees

Many elm trees have become very large or famous for different reasons.

Elms in Art

Artists have often admired elms for their beautiful branches and leaves. They have painted them with great care. Elms appear in many paintings and studies by artists like John Constable, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Frederick Childe Hassam, and George Inness.

John Constable, 'Study of an Elm Tree' [1821]
John Constable, 'The Cornfield' [1826]
Constable, 'Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Garden' [1823 version]
Jacob George Strutt, Elms at Mongewell, Oxfordshire [1830]
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, 'Old Elms in Prater' [1831]
James Duffield Harding, 'The Great Exhibition of 1851'
Arthur Hughes, 'Home from Sea' [1862]
Ford Madox Brown, 'Work' [1863]
[unknown artist] The American Elm [1879]
Johannes Karel Christiaan Klinkenberg, 'Amsterdam' [1890]
Frederick Childe Hassam, 'Champs Elysées, Paris' [1889]
Frederick Childe Hassam, 'Washington Arch, Spring' [1893]
Frederick Childe Hassam, 'Church at Old Lyme' [1905]
Frederick Childe Hassam, 'The East Hampton Elms in May' [1920]
George Inness, 'Old Elm at Medfield'
Unknown artist, 'The Cam near Trinity College, Cambridge', England

Images for kids

A rooted cutting of European White Elm (July)
A Golden elm tree with Dutch elm disease
The elm leaf beetle
Lafayette Street in Salem, Massachusetts, showing the tall, tunnel-like effect of American elm avenues once common in New England (colorized postcard, 1910)
A row of Princeton elm trees at Scripps College in Claremont, California, which are somewhat resistant to Dutch elm disease
American elm trees along The Mall and Literary Walk in New York City's Central Park (2013)
Rows of American elm trees line a path south of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. (November 11, 2006)
Elm in boat-building: John Constable, Boat-building near Flatford Mill, 1815
Achilles and Scamander
Dryad
The Sibyl and Aeneas
Under the elm, Brighton, 2006
Ulmus parvifolia bark
Ripe seeds of a field elm
A Rock elm (Ulmus thomasii) seedling growing
A seedling of a wych elm (Ulmus glabra)
Root-suckers spreading from a field elm (Ulmus minor)
Root cuttings of Ulmus 'Dodoens'
A rooted hardwood elm-cutting
Softwood elm-cuttings rooting under a mist-propagation system
A mutant variegated Smooth-leafed Elm graft
Air layering of U. pumila
In vitro (in a lab) growth of Ulmus chenmoui from a bud
Aerial roots on a hybrid elm cultivar
'Pouch' leaf-galls on a wych elm (caused by an aphid called Tetraneura ulmi), Germany.
'Pouch' leaf-gall on an elm leaf (caused by an aphid Tetraneura ulmi), Netherlands.
'Cockscomb' leaf-galls (caused by an aphid Colopha compressa), Poland.
'Bladder' leaf-galls on elm leaves (caused by an aphid Eriosoma lanuginosum), Italy.
'Bladder' leaf-galls on a narrow-leaved elm (caused by an aphid Eriosoma lanuginosum), Italy.
Aphids inside a leaf-gall, Poland.
'Pimple' leaf-galls on a field elm (caused by a mite Eriophyes ulmi), Spain.
A White-letter Hairstreak butterfly (Satyrium w-album) on an elm. The caterpillars of this butterfly only eat elm leaves.
An egg of Satyrium w-album near an elm flower-bud.
An elm-bark beetle (Scolytus multistriatus), which is very small (2–3 mm). This beetle helps spread Dutch Elm Disease.
The tunnels ('galleries') made by Scolytus multistriatus under elm-bark.
An elm-leaf beetle (Xanthogaleruca luteola), which can cause a lot of damage to elm leaves.
A caterpillar of Xanthogaleruca luteola on an elm-leaf, Germany.
Damage to an elm-leaf caused by Xanthogaleruca luteola, Germany.
A bacterial infection (Erwinia carotovora) of elm sap, which causes 'slime flux' (also called 'wetwood') and stains the tree trunk (here on a Camperdown Elm).
John Constable, 'Elm trees in Old Hall Park, East Bergholt' [1817]
Ford Madox Brown, 'Work' [1863]