Slippery Elm Seed

Ran across this Slippery Elm seed the other day. I have not found many of these trees so I'm glad to ID this one.

Slippery Elm Report

Slippery elm

Ulmus rubra Muhlenb.

At times this tree is also called red elm.

Ht up to 60' Has long trunk before deviding into branches. Has flat open crown.

Flowers Feb to April

Fruit: April to June usually 3/4" long. Has wing circling the seed with a notch at the top.

Leaves: Alternate, simple 4 - 8" long. 2-3" wide. Upper surface rough like sandpaper making the name of the tree seem like sarcasm.  But the name really comes from the inner bark which is sticky when chewed. The leaves are serrate like saw teeth. And the large teeth have smaller teeth. The tip of the tree is pointed and usually crooked. The upper surface has hairs that are stiff and below softer hairs.

Tea from the inner bark was used for coughs, and stomach problems. External bark was applied as a tea to fresh wounds, and burns.

The Indians used Slippery elm when paper birch was not available the bark was used for canoe shells.

Like American Elm, this tree is susceptible to Dutch elm disease and phloem necrosis.

Because of the long bole the tree, Slippery elm has the possibility of being used for lumber. It is listed in my "Missouri Woods" book by Robert Massengale.

The wood is of medium density, but for its weight has some strength.

The heartwood is reddish brown which would give the reason for the name of red elm. The texture of the wood is course but it machines with little difficulty  and bends easily. 

The wood is not easy to dry because of warping and shrinks a lot. There also seems to be a lot of ring shake. Ring shake is where the wood separates along where the annual rings were formed.

Notes came from:

 "Trees of Missouri" By Don Kurz

"Trees of Missouri" by  Carl Setternren and R.E. McDermott

"Missouri Woods" by Robert Massengale

Slippery Elm

Not being familiar with this tree I was watching when the leaves came out to ID the tree. It is a Slippery Elm. One of the characteristics of this tree is the vertical  lines within the bark. American elm  does not have this. Am elm bark is blotchy in color. 

The buds were round and not angled and oblong like Am elm.

Slippery Elm

Slippery Elm Buds

Slippery Elm (Ulmus fulva) buds.

American elm has smaller buds. Where I live along the Missouri river near Kansas and Missouri I don't run into Slippery elm often. At this time of year I want to search for these buds to come back and see these trees again.

Slippery Elm Bark

Slippery elm bark

Revisit Slipery Elm

I came back to the Slipery elm I found last month.





The tree on the right in the photo below is the Slippery elm.

The below photo was taken in late April


I ID this tree as Slippery elm because of the slight notch of the seed sac at the apex.

Silppery Elm Seeds

I ID this tree as Slippery elm because of the slight notch of the seed sac at the apex.
I found these elm seeds today on my lunch hike. The tree on the right in the photo below is the elm.

I noticed that this was an elm tree but the bark did not resemble an American elm. When I got home and consulted my tree ID books the verdict was Slippery elm.