Winged Elm
Encyclopedia
Ulmus alata, the Winged Elm or Wahoo, is a small- to medium-sized deciduous tree endemic to the southern and south-central United States.
to narrowly elliptic
, thin in texture, and smooth above. The wind-pollinated perfect apetalous flowers are borne on long pedicel
s in March and April before the leaves appear. The reddish samarae
are relatively small, < 8 mm long, narrowly elliptic with two long incurving stigmas at the tip, and usually disperse by the end of April. The canopy form is variable, from pyramidal to rounded.
The species is occasionally considered a nuisance as it readily invades old fields, forest clearings, and rangelands, proving particularly difficult to eradicate with herbicides.
and Elm Yellows (Elm phloem necrosis)
.
.
Europe
Australasia
Widely available.
Europe
.
On the silty uplands of the Mississippi River Delta
, Ulmus alata can attain 27 m (89 ft) in height, although the trunk diameter rarely exceeds 60 cm (24 in) d.b.h
. In the old growth Fernbank Forest
in Atlanta, Georgia
, the species attains heights up to 126 feet (38.4 m).
The tallest known extant individual, at 131 feet (39.9 m), is in the Congaree National Park
in South Carolina
.
Description
As its common and scientific names imply, Ulmus alata is most easily recognized by the very broad, thin pair of corky wings that form along the branchlets after a couple of years. The leaves are small, < 6.5 cm (2.5 in) long and < 2.0 cm (0.8 in) broad, oblong-lanceolateLeaf shape
In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...
to narrowly elliptic
Leaf shape
In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...
, thin in texture, and smooth above. The wind-pollinated perfect apetalous flowers are borne on long pedicel
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
s in March and April before the leaves appear. The reddish samarae
Samara (fruit)
A samara is a type of fruit in which a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue develops from the ovary wall. A samara is a simple dry fruit and indehiscent . It is a winged achene...
are relatively small, < 8 mm long, narrowly elliptic with two long incurving stigmas at the tip, and usually disperse by the end of April. The canopy form is variable, from pyramidal to rounded.
Ecology
Ulmus alata is found in woodlands in the southeastern and south-central United States. It is tolerant of a wide range of soils, and of ponding, but is the least shade-tolerant of the North American elms. Its growth rate is often very slow, the trunk increasing in diameter by < 5mm (0.2 in) per annum.The species is occasionally considered a nuisance as it readily invades old fields, forest clearings, and rangelands, proving particularly difficult to eradicate with herbicides.
Pests and diseases
Like most species of Ulmus, U. alata is very susceptible to Dutch elm diseaseDutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease is a disease caused by a member of the sac fungi category, affecting elm trees which is spread by the elm bark beetle. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease has been accidentally introduced into America and Europe, where it has devastated native...
and Elm Yellows (Elm phloem necrosis)
Elm Yellows
Elm Yellows is a plant disease of elm trees that is spread by leafhoppers or by root grafts. Elm Yellows, also known as Elm Phloem Necrosis, is very aggressive, with no known cure. Elm Yellows occurs in the Eastern United States and southern Ontario in Canada. It is caused by phytoplasmas which...
.
Cultivation
Ulmus alata is rarely cultivated beyond its natural range. It remains in commercial production in the USA, and is occasionally available in Europe. However, it is very uncommon in AustralasiaAustralasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
.
Accessions
North America- Arnold Arboretum. Acc. no. 404-95, wild collected.
- Bartlett Tree Experts http://www.bartlett.com. Acc. no. 1438, unrecorded provenance.
- Brooklyn Botanic GardenBrooklyn Botanic GardenBrooklyn Botanic Garden is a botanical garden in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, and Park Slope neighborhoods, the garden includes a number of specialty "gardens within the Garden," plant collections, and the Steinhardt Conservatory,...
http://www.bbg.org/cgi/bgbase/search.cgi, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Acc. nos. 730275, X00886 - Bernheim Arboretum and Research ForestBernheim Arboretum and Research ForestBernheim Arboretum and Research Forest is a 14,000 acre arboretum, forest, and nature preserve located in Clermont, Kentucky ....
http://www.bernheim.org/species_lists.htm, Clermont, KentuckyClermont, KentuckyClermont is a USGS-designated populated place in Bullitt County, Kentucky, United States, south of Louisville.-History:The area was officially recognized by the USGS on September 20, 1979, during the rapid expansion of Shepherdsville due to the development of Interstate 65. A large portion of...
. No details available. - Morton ArboretumMorton ArboretumThe Morton Arboretum, in Lisle, Illinois, covers 1,700 acres and is made up of gardens of various plant types and collections of trees from specific taxonomical and geographical areas. It includes native woodlands and a restored Illinois prairie. The Arboretum has over 4,100 different species of...
. Acc. no. 116-96, wild collected Papoose LakePapoose LakePapoose Lake is a dry lake bed located in Lincoln County, Nevada, USA. The lake lies within the plot of land referred to as the Groom Lake facility and is a restricted area. The lake is located a few miles Southwest of the Groom lake facility nestled adjacent the Papoose Range....
, IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
Europe
- Brighton & HoveBrighton & HoveBrighton and Hove is a unitary authority area and city on the south coast of England. It is England's most populous seaside resort.In 1997 Brighton and Hove were joined to form the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove, which was granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II as part of the millennium...
City Council, UK, NCCPG Elm Collection http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1108042. One tree at East Brighton Park, UK champion 13 m high, 31 cm d.b.h. in 2001. - Grange Farm ArboretumGrange Farm ArboretumThe Grange Farm Arboretum is a small private arboretum comprising 3 hectares accommodating over 800 trees, mostly native and ornamental species or cultivars, notably oaks, ashes, walnuts and elms, growing on a calcareous loam....
, Sutton St JamesSutton St JamesSutton St James is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England, about south west of Long Sutton.Lying in the Lincolnshire Fens, Sutton St James did not exist at the time of Domesday Book of 1086...
, Spalding, LincolnshireSpalding, LincolnshireSpalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
, UK. Acc. no. 506 - Royal Botanic Garden EdinburghRoyal Botanic Garden EdinburghThe Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Originally founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies four sites across Scotland — Edinburgh,...
. Acc. no. 20080092, from seed wild collected in USA. - ThenfordThenfordThenford is a village and civil parish about northwest of the market town of Brackley in South Northamptonshire and east of Banbury in nearby Oxfordshire.Thenford's toponym is derived from the Old English for "Ford of the Thegns"....
House, NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, UK. No details available.
Australasia
- Manukau Cemetery & Crematorium, AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand. No details available.
Nurseries
North AmericaWidely available.
Europe
- Arboretum Waasland, Nieuwkerken-Waas, Belgium.
- Grange Farm PlantsGrange Farm ArboretumThe Grange Farm Arboretum is a small private arboretum comprising 3 hectares accommodating over 800 trees, mostly native and ornamental species or cultivars, notably oaks, ashes, walnuts and elms, growing on a calcareous loam....
, Spalding, LincolnshireSpalding, LincolnshireSpalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
, UK. - Plantentuin Esveld, Netherlands.
Seed suppliers
- Sheffield's Seeds Co. Inc., New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA.
Other uses
Ulmus alata is of minimal commercial significance, its hard timber considered no more remarkable than that of other American elms, and of limited use because of the commonly small size of the trees. However, owing to its resistance to splitting, it is used to make high-quality hockey sticksHockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
.
Notable trees
Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
, Ulmus alata can attain 27 m (89 ft) in height, although the trunk diameter rarely exceeds 60 cm (24 in) d.b.h
Diameter at breast height
Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements....
. In the old growth Fernbank Forest
Fernbank Forest
Fernbank Forest is a 65-acre mature mixed forest located at the Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta, Georgia. It has one of the few remnants of original forest vegetation in the Georgia Piedmont; as such, it has been extensively studied by scientists. Large specimens of white oak and tulip poplar,...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, the species attains heights up to 126 feet (38.4 m).
The tallest known extant individual, at 131 feet (39.9 m), is in the Congaree National Park
Congaree National Park
Congaree National Park preserves the largest tract of old growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States. Located in South Carolina, the 26,546-acre national park received that designation in 2003 as the culmination of a grassroots campaign which had started in 1969...
in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
External links
- http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/Volume_2/ulmus/alata.htm Ulmus alata Michx.