Alternate name: Asiatic Elm, Dwarf Elm
Family: Ulmaceae, Elm view all from this family
Description Ulmus pumila, the Siberian Elm, is native to Central Asia, eastern Siberia, Mongolia, Xizang (Tibet), northern China, India (northern Kashmir) and Korea . It is also known as the Asiatic Elm, Dwarf Elm and (erroneously) Chinese Elm. Two varieties are recognized: var pumila and var. arborea, the latter known as Turkestan elm. Ulmus pumila has been widely cultivated throughout Asia, North America and, to a lesser extent, southern Europe.
The Siberian Elm is usually a small to medium-sized, often bushy, tree growing to 10 – 20 m tall, with a trunk up to 80 cm d.b.h. The leaves are deciduous in cold areas, but semi-evergreen in warmer climates, < 7 cm long and < 3 cm broad, with an oblique base and a coarsely serrated margin, changing from dark green to yellow in autumn. The perfect, apetalous wind-pollinated flowers emerge in early spring, before the leaves; unlike most elms, U. pumila is able to self-pollinate successfully . The wind-dispersed fruit develops in a flat, oval membranous wing (samara) 1 - 1.5 cm long and notched at the outer end . The tree is short-lived in temperate climates, rarely reaching more than 60 years of age, but in its native environment may live to between 100 and 150 years.
Habitat Cities, suburbs & towns, Scrub, shrub & brushlands, Grasslands & prairies, Watersides (fresh).
Range Rocky Mountains, Florida, Southwest, Eastern Canada, Plains, Great Lakes, Texas, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, New England, California, Northwest.
