Campus Tree Tour
Ulmaceae – Elm Family
In 2024, this winged elm measured 48 feet tall and had a diameter of 21 inches. Based on USDA Forest Service models, it will absorb approximately 2,901 lbs. of carbon over the next 20 years. Put simply, this tree alone will offset up to 11,738 car miles worth of carbon dioxide.
See all species on our Campus Tree Tour.
Introduction
The winged elm, found within the Southeastern United States, is a hardy tree of small to medium size. The word “alata” means “wing” in Latin, earning its name from the appendages that extend from its twigs. Other recognizable features include its corky bark and serrated leaves that provide cover for nesting birds. The elm’s adaptability to various environments and sturdy nature makes it a popular species for urban landscaping.
Physical Description
Life expectancy: Up to 100 years
Height: 45 – 70 feet
Crown: 30 – 40 feet
Diameter: Up to 24 inches
Bark: Grey and brown with irregular flat ridges that look like plates stacked on top of each other. Has a soft, corky texture upon touch.
Leaves: Deciduous, simple, and alternately arranged upon the twig. Leaves are shaped elliptical to lanceolate with a pointed tip. The margin (edge) is double serrated with smaller serrations between larger serrations. The base is inequilateral (sides of leaf are asymmetrical in size).
Leaves are dark green and glabrous (shiny) on the top surface while the lower surface is paler green with some pubescence (hairs).
Twigs: Wing-like corky appendages that grow outward from the twig. The presence of wings on a tree is variable.
Flowers: Reddish racemes that are bell shaped and grown in clusters. Produced in March and April.
Fruits: Reddish, greenish samaras with a single seed and a wing that encircles the seed; looks like a flying saucer. It ripens and disperses in April.
Key Identification Characteristics: bark, inequilateral leaf base, double serrate margin
Past and Present Uses
Historically, the winged elm had both medicinal and material uses. Indigenous tribes used its inner bark to treat diarrhea and ease childbirth. They would also use the inner bark to create rope, baskets, and tool handles. European settlers used this rope-making technique to fasten cotton bales.
The winged elm has some commercial timber value and its flexible wood is used in making curved pieces of furnishings, flooring, boxes, and crates. It is also used to manufacture high quality hockey sticks due to its resistance to splitting. However, the winged elm has greater economic value as an urban tree due to its small but tough stature. It is commonly grown in nurseries to cultivate its desirable characteristics, and its adaptability to grow in confined spaces has made it an ideal tree to plant on parking lot islands and along roads.
It should be noted that the winged elm should not be planted in abundance within a single landscape. Its susceptibility to Dutch elm disease, a fungal disease spread by beetles, makes the trees vulnerable to illness. If one tree becomes infected in a monoculture, then many of the winged elms will succumb to the disease.
Ecological Importance
Origin: Native to the United States
Native Range: Found from southern Virginia, west to Missouri, south to Texas, and east to central Florida.
Figure 1. Native range of Winged Elm. Photo credit: U.S. Geological Survey
The winged elm is a widely distributed species across the Southeastern United States, growing well on dry and rich, moist soils. It can be found on upland areas in well-drained habitats, woodlands, slopes, and in moist areas such as wet hammocks and flood plains. As an understory species, the winged elm is associated with other hardwood species such as various oaks (e.g., white, black, and red), sugarberry, green ash, eastern hophornbeam, and American hornbeam.
During the spring, the winged elm provides leaves and twigs as food for mammals such as deer and rabbits. Butterflies will use the winged elm as a host plant for their larvae, while songbirds will eat insects and fruit. The tree also provides a nesting site for birds.
More Information
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/ST648
References
Hubele, L. (2021). For the love of trees: Winged elm - san marcos greenbelt alliance. San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance. https://smgreenbelt.org/for-the-love-of-trees-winged-elm/
Institute for Systematic Botany. (n.d.). Ulmus alata. Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS). https://www.fnps.org/plant/ulmus-alata
Snow, G. A. (n.d.). Winged Elm. Ulmus alata Michx. . https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_2/ulmus/alata.htm#:~:text=Winged%20elm%20(Ulmus%20alata)%20is,are%20cork%20elm%20and%20wahoo
The University of Texas at Austin. (n.d.-a). Plant database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin. https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ulal#:~:text=Benefit,diarrhea%20and%20to%20ease%20childbirth
Ulmus alata. North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ulmus-alata/