Part 33

South to Florida; west to North Dakota and Texas.

=Habit.=--A small or medium-sized tree, 40-60 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 1-2-1/2 feet; head in proportion to the height of the tree, the widest spreading of the species, characterized by its dark, hairy buds and rusty-green, dense and rough foliage.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk brown and in old trees deeply furrowed; larger branches grayish-brown, somewhat striate; branchlets grayish-brown, rough, marked with numerous dots, downy; season's shoots light gray and very rough; inner bark mucilaginous, hence the name "slippery elm."

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds ovate to rounded-cylindrical, acute or obtuse, very dark, densely tomentose, very conspicuous just before unfolding. Leaves simple, alternate, 4-8 inches long, 3-4 inches wide, thickish, minutely hairy above and woolly beneath when young, at maturity pale rusty-green and very rough both ways upon the upper surface, scarcely less beneath, rough and hairy along the ribs; sweet-scented when dried; outline oblong, ovate-oblong, or oval, doubly serrate; apex acuminate; base more or less heart-shaped or obtuse, inequilateral; leafstalk short, rough, hairy; stipules small, soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--March to April. Preceding the leaves, from the lateral buds of the preceding season, in clusters of nearly sessile, purplish flowers; sterile, fertile, and perfect on the same tree; calyx 5-9-lobed, downy; corolla none; stamens 5-9, anthers dark red; ovary flattened; styles two, purple, downy.

=Fruit.=--A samara, winged all round, 3/4 inch in diameter, roundish, pubescent over the seed, not fringed, larger than the fruit of U. Americana.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; does well in various situations, but prefers a light, sandy or gravelly soil near running water; grows more rapidly than U. Americana, and is less liable to the attacks of insects; its large foliage and graceful outline make it worthy of a place in ornamental plantations. Propagated from seed.

1. Winter buds. 2. Flowering branch, 3. Flower, top view. 4. Flower, side view, part of perianth and stamens removed. 5. Pistil. 6. Fruiting branch.

=Ulmus racemosa, Thomas.=

CORK ELM. ROCK ELM.

=Habitat and Range.=--Dry, gravelly soils, rich soils, river banks.

Quebec through Ontario.

Maine,--not reported; New Hampshire,--rare and extremely local; Meriden and one or two other places (Jessup); Vermont,--rare, Bennington, Pownal (Robbins), Knowlton (Brainerd), Highgate (Eggleston); comparatively abundant in Champlain valley and westward (T. H. Haskins, Garden and Forest, V, 86); Massachusetts,--rare; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--not reported native.

South to Tennessee; west to Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri.

=Habit.=--A large tree, scarcely inferior at its best to U. Americana, 50-75 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 2-3 feet; reaching in southern Michigan a height of 100 feet and a diameter of 5 feet; trunk rather slender; branches short and stout, often twiggy in the interior of the tree; branchlets slender, spreading, sometimes with a drooping tendency; head rather narrow, round-topped.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk brownish-gray, in old trees irregularly separated into deep, wide, flat-topped ridges; branches grayish-brown; leaf-scars conspicuous; season's shoots light brown, more or less pubescent or glabrous, oblong-dotted; branches and branchlets often marked lengthwise with corky, wing-like ridges.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds ovate to oblong, pointed, scales downy-ciliate, pubescent. Leaves simple, alternate, 3-4 inches long, half as wide, glabrous above, minutely pubescent beneath; outline ovate, doubly serrate (less sharp than the serratures in U. Americana); apex acuminate; base inequilateral, produced and rounded on one side, acute or slightly rounded on the other; veins straight; leafstalk short, stout; stipules soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--April to May. Appearing before the leaves from lateral buds of the preceding season, in drooping racemes; calyx lobes 7-8, broad-triangular, with rounded edges and a mostly obtuse apex: pedicels thread-like, jointed; stamens 5-10, exserted, anthers purple, ovary 2-styled: stigmas recurved or spreading.

=Fruit.=--Samara ovate, broadly oval, or obovate, pubescent, margin densely fringed, resembling fruit of U. Americana but somewhat larger.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; prefers a moist, rich soil, in open situations; less variable in habit than the American elm and a smaller tree with smaller foliage, scarcely varying enough to justify its extensive use as a substitute. Not often obtainable in nurseries, but readily transplanted, and easily propagated from the seed.

1. Winter buds, at the time the flowers open. 2. Flowering branch. 3. Flower, side view. 4. Flower, side view, perianth and stamens partly removed. 5. Fruiting branch.

CELTIS OCCIDENTALIS, L.

HACKBERRY. NETTLE TREE. HOOP ASH. SUGAR BERRY.

=Habitat and Range.=--In divers situations and soils; woods, river banks, near salt marshes.

Province of Quebec to Lake of the Woods, occasional.

Maine,--not reported; New Hampshire,--sparingly along the Connecticut valley, as far as Wells river; Vermont,--along Lake Champlain, not common; Norwich and Windsor on the Connecticut (Eggleston); Massachusetts,--occasional throughout the state; Rhode Island,--common (Bailey); Connecticut,--common (J. N. Bishop).

South to the Gulf states; west to Minnesota and Missouri.

=Habit.=--A small or medium-sized tree, 20-45 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 8 inches to 2 feet; attaining farther south a maximum of 100 feet in height, with a trunk diameter of 4-6 feet; variable; most commonly the rough, straight trunk, sometimes buttressed at the base, branches a few feet from the ground, sending out a few large limbs and numerous slender, horizontal or slightly drooping and more or less tortuous branches; head wide-spreading, flattish or often rounded, with deep green foliage which lasts into late autumn with little change in color, and with cherry-like fruit which holds on till the next spring.