Relatives

Ulmus laevis Pall. - European White Elm.

Taxonomic position.

Family Ulmaceae Mirb. genus Ulmus L.

Synonymy.

Ulmus celtidea (Rogow.) Litv., U. simplicidens E.Wolf

Morphology and biology.

Deciduous tree up to 35 m tall with dense oval crown. Trunks up to 1 m diameter, with brown-grey bark. Branches glossy, with grey bloom. Buds lanceolate, acute, with yellow-brown, dark-bordered scales with ciliate margins. Leaves 7-12 cm long, 3-7 cm wide, entire, elliptic to obovate, with acute apex and oblique base, bidentate at margin, above usually non-scabrous, glabrous or diffusely pubescent, beneath glabrous to pubescent. Flowers brownish, on pedicels 6-20 mm long. Perianth 5-8-lobed, oblique, ciliate. Stamens with violet anthers. Fruit a nutlet surrounded by samara. Samaras 1-1,5(2) cm diameter, elliptic, ciliate at margin, on stalks 7-12 mm long. Anemophilous. Anemochore. Propagates by seeds, summer and root cuttings. Flowers in April - May, mature fruits in June.

Distribution.

West Europe (except for Mediterranean), Ciscaucasia, East Europe (except for northern regions).

Ecology.

Mesophyte. Shade-resistant. Usually occurs in forest stand of deciduous forests, especially in ravines, slopes of river valleys, humid habitats with rich soil.

Use and economic value.

Technical, ornamental. Has beautiful wood used for woodwork. Brought under cultivation long ago, for landscaping inhabitat areas.

References:

Grossheim AA. 1945. Flora of Caucasus. 2nd ed. V.3. 321 p. (In Russian).
Gubanov IA., Kiseleva KV., Novikov VS., Tikhomirov VN. 2003. Illustrated Manual of the Middle Russia Plants. V.2. Moscow: KMK. 665 p. (In Russian).
Koropachinskiy IYu., Vstovskaya TN. 2002. Woody plants of the Asian part of Russia. Novosibirsk: Publishing House of Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Science, Branch "Geo". P.212. (In Russian).
Sokolov SI., Svjaseva OA., Kubli VA. 1977. Ranges of trees and shrubs of the USSR. V.1. Leningrad: Nauka. P.129-130. (In Russian).

© I.G.Chukhina