Short Description
The European white elm can grow up to 35 m tall and has a broad irregular many-domed crown.
The leaves are oval and pointed. The leaves grow alternately on the branch. Leaves are initially hairy on both sides and later bare on top and slightly glossy. The markedly asymmetric leaf base is a typical feature. The leaf margin is sharply double-serrated.
The trunk is often leaning or not quite upright with arched and almost horizontal branches. The bark is smooth and silver-grey. With age, it becomes increasingly darker, with scales breaking off.
The flowers are inconspicuous with a red ciliated perianth and long stamens. Many individual florets appear in dense greenish-brown clusters.
The fruits are broad, elliptical, membranous winged nuts. They have long stalks and ripen from green to white. Their margins are markedly ciliated.
Features
European white elm
Ulmus laevis
asymmetric leaf base
smooth and slightly glossy upper side
In the city
The European white elm is a comparatively frequent park tree. It prefers shaded and damp to wet sites. Elms are well able to cope with droughts and shady sites and are thus well suited to parking places and pedestrian areas. As elms tend to develop a shallow root system which can lift pavement or road surfaces, they are less suitable as roadside trees.
Fun Facts
From the 1920s, elms across all of Europe have been affected by a fungus causing them to die. This has caused a significant reduction in their population.
The fruits are disseminated by the wind as “whirlygigs”.
Elm wood used to be a sought-after wood for the construction of stairs and bridges because it is very weatherproof.
It flowers from March to April.
The fruit ripening season is in April to June.
- Endangerment level Germany: Warning list
In Germanic mythology, the elm is the family tree of the woman. The Celts revered it as a sacred tree, as fairies were said to live near it. In Greek mythology, the elm symbolizes dreams, death and the underworld.
Bark and leaves was formerly used to treat rheumatic complaints and skin rashes. An oil can be produced from the seeds.
Sources
Blatt, Alice Kracht, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://offene-naturfuehrer.de/web/Datei:Ulmus_laevis_(2).JPG
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Habitus, Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ulmus_laevis_JPG1a.jpg
Frucht, Alice Kracht, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://offene-naturfuehrer.de/web/Datei:Ulmus_laevis_(4).JPG
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Aas, G. & Riedmiller, A. (2002) Laubbäume. Bestimmen – Kennenlernen – Schützen, Bindlach: Gondrom Verlag.
Amann, G. & Richter, P. (1962) Bäume und Sträucher des Waldes, Melsungen: Verlag J. Neumann – Neudamm.
Böhlmann, D. (2015) Laubbäume temperierter Klimate mit ihrer Artenvielfalt, Berlin: Patzer Verlag.
Mitchell, A. (1975) Die Wald- und Parkbäume Europas. Ein Bestimmungsbuch, Hamburg und Berlin: Verlag Paul Parey.
Roloff, A. (2013) Bäume in der Stadt. Besonderheiten - Funktion - Nutzen - Arten - Risiken, Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.
Page „Flatterulme“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 27.11.2015, 13:02 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flatterulme&oldid=148451631 (Accessed: 19.05.2016).