This area is mostly forested and provides access for floating and fishing the Big Piney River. Amenities include a parking area and canoe launch ramp.
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Scientific Name
Ulmus americana
Family
Ulmaceae (elms)
Description
American elm is a small to medium-sized (to very large) tree, at maturity with spreading branches forming a broad-spreading, fan-shaped crown.
Leaves are alternate, simple, 4–6 inches long, 2–3 inches wide, broadest at or below the middle with coarse, sawtooth edges. Smaller teeth appear along the lower side of the larger teeth. Base is uneven. Upper surface dark green, shiny, mostly smooth to somewhat rough.
Bark is gray, in cross-section with alternating brown and white layers, grooves deep, ridges flattened with thin closely pressed scales.
Twigs are slender, reddish-brown turning ash gray with age, hairy at first, smooth later.
Flowers February–April, in drooping clusters, red to green, small, petals lacking, the flower stalks originating from the same point.
Fruits March–May, in drooping clusters on long stalks originating from the same point; fruit about ½ inch long, seed surrounded by a thin wing; wing broadest in the middle, notched at the tip, with a fringe of silvery hairs along the edge.
Size
Height: to 70 feet or more, but trees that large are rare today; most are smaller, understory trees.
Where To Find
Statewide.
Habitat and Conservation
Although essentially a bottomland tree, American elm will grow under a variety of conditions. Sadly, a fungus was imported to North America on logs shipped from Europe around 1930. This “Dutch elm” fungus spread quickly and began killing thousands of large, magnificent trees. The fungus is transmitted by elm bark beetles that chew on one tree and then fly to another. The fungus enters the sapwood and blocks the flow of water into the tree, causing branches to wilt and die, killing the tree before it can reach a large size.
Status
Populations are secure, but Dutch elm disease, introduced from Europe in 1941, killed off nearly all the majestic old elms that had once been a fixture in nearly every town. The species survives because even young trees can produce viable seed. However, as new trees grow, they eventually succumb to the disease and die before they get very big. Disease-resistant strains are being developed, and individual trees can be treated with fungicide injections every three years.
Human Connections
With their arching branches, American elms were the shade tree of choice for town squares and city streets, and they have figured into many historic American events. Elms can live for hundreds of years, so it has been traumatic for Americans to lose trees that were essentially historical markers. When all the large street elms died, people planted ash trees as an alternative, but now ashes are endangered continent-wide because of the invasive, exotic emerald ash borer. When the ashes are gone, what will be America's next popular shade tree?
Ecosystem Connections
Elms are prolific producers of seeds, and birds, rabbits, opossums, squirrels, and rodents eat them. Deer eat the leaves and twigs in the spring.
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Media Gallery
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Caption
American elm, Ulmus americana.
Credit
Paul Nelson
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Credit
Jim Rathert
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Missouri's largest American elm tree resides at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis. Measuring more than 100 feet tall with a spread of 122 feet, it's one of three State Champion Trees found in the cemetery.
Credit
MDC staff
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This American elm grew up in a fence line in Johnson County, avoided Dutch elm disease, and is now crowned a Missouri State Champion Tree for its species.
Credit
MDC
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Where to See Species
This area offers access to the Gasconade River for fishing and floating. Amenities include a parking area, privy, and concrete boat ramp.
This area provides fishing and boat access to the Meramec River.
About Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines in Missouri
There are no sharp dividing lines between trees, shrubs, and woody vines, or even between woody and nonwoody plants. “Wood” is a type of tissue made of cellulose and lignin that many plants develop as they mature — whether they are “woody” or not. Trees are woody plants over 13 feet tall with a single trunk. Shrubs are less than 13 feet tall, with multiple stems. Vines require support or else sprawl over the ground.