Slippery Elm Ulmus rubra
- Phonetic Spelling
- ULM-us ROO-brah
- Description
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Ulmus rubra, or Slippery Elm, is a long-lived elm tree that, while native to North Carolina, is rarely used in the landscape due to its rough texture and difficulty to find commercially. In nature, it can be found in wooded areas with moist to fairly dry calcareous soils and in cove forests in the low mountains containing soils rich in organic matter, and drier upland soils. It is not often found above 1800 feet elevation. It will tolerate drought and part shade but prefers sun and moist loam or clay loam soils. It can be grown in any soil of moderate quality as long as it is well drained. A moderately fast-growing tree, it can live about 200 years in the wild. It can be weedy and messy due to seed production. The tree can reach a height of 70 feet and its single trunk has a diameter of 2 to 3 feet.
Used in traditional medicine as the moist inner bark is the source of the well-known slippery elm ingredient used in throat lozenges. Native Americans used the bark to quench thirst by chewing the sweet, fibrous inner bark peeled from twigs and branches. The inner bark is slippery, thus its common name.
Diseases, Insects, and Other Plant Problems:
Dutch elm disease, a fungal disease spread by beetles, attacks the inner tissue of the tree, resulting in wilting, defoliation and death. Susceptible to other elm diseases including phloem necrosis and wetwood, and various wilts, rots, cankers and leaf spots may also occur. Insects include borers, leaf miner, beetles, mealy bugs, caterpillars and scale.
VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for "Trees, Shrubs and Conifers" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Ulmus
- Species:
- rubra
- Family:
- Ulmaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- The moist inner bark is an ingredient used in throat lozenges. Wood is close grained, durable, and heavy and is used for lumber and pulpwood. Native Americans used the bark for canoes in place of birch, for medicinal use, and to quench thirst by chewing the sweep, fibrous inner bark peeled from twigs and branches.
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- North America
- Distribution:
- Central and southern North America - Maine to Florida, west to Texas and North Dakota. throughout Canada and the lower 48 United States.
- Wildlife Value:
- Birds often nest in the thick elm foliage, and the seeds and buds are food to songbirds, game birds, and squirrels. Deer and rabbits browse on the twigs. This tree is a larval host for butterflies and moths.
- Play Value:
- Shade
- Wildlife Cover/Habitat
- Wildlife Food Source
- Wildlife Larval Host
- Wildlife Nesting
- Dimensions:
- Height: 40 ft. 0 in. - 70 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 30 ft. 0 in. - 50 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Perennial
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Ascending
- Oval
- Vase
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Coarse
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 24-60 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Spring
- Fruit Type:
- Samara
- Fruit Description:
- The fruit is a flat, 1-seeded samara. Not-showy. In North Carolina, fruits are available from March to May.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Green
- Red/Burgundy
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Insignificant
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Winter
- Flower Description:
- Greenish-red flowers form in dense clusters of 5 to 20 flowers up to 1" across on short stems. In North Carolina, flowers are available from February to April.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Rough
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Oblong
- Obovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Doubly Serrate
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Four to eight inch long broad, rounded, green leaves with an offset base, 2 to 3 inches wide with a rough texture due to minute hairs. The lower leaf surface is whitish-green and more or less covered with short pubescence. The white ribs of the veins are very prominent along the lower surface. The fall color is dull yellow.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Brown
- Dark Gray
- Red/Burgundy
- Surface/Attachment:
- Fissured
- Bark Description:
- Trunk bark is predominantly gray, consisting of narrow flat ridges and shallow furrows; inner bark is more reddish-brown, as revealed by some of the furrows. Has downy twigs and slimy red inner bark
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Gray/Silver
- Red/Burgundy
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Buds:
- Hairy
- Stem Form:
- Straight
- Stem Surface:
- Hairy (pubescent)
- Stem Description:
- Branches are ascending to widely spreading, becoming subdivided into numerous twigs. The bark of branches and older twigs are more smooth and gray to reddish-brown, while the bark of young twigs is grey, rough, and hairy. Buds are black.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Drought Tolerant Garden
- Native Garden
- Shade Garden
- Winter Garden
- Design Feature:
- Shade Tree
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Moths
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Black Walnut
- Drought
- Pollution
- Problems:
- Messy
- Weedy
