Winged Elm
Ulmus alata
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Winged elm grows from Virginia to Florida and west to Illinois through Texas. It tolerates many soil conditions, though fertility and moisture will affect tree size. It prefers partial to full sun.
Fruit: A 10 mm long, reddish, elliptical single samara with a hairy margin. They mature from April to May.
Flowers: A small red flower with curling fuzzy stigmas arranged in clusters. They appear in late winter to early spring.
Uses: The wood is heavy and used for furniture, crates, and boxes.
Ethnobotany: In the 18th and 19th centuries, the fibrous inner bark was made into rope to fasten covers onto cotton bales.
Importance to wildlife: Winged elm is a larval host for multiple butterfly species.
The bark of a winged elm. Bark is light brownish gray and has irregular furrows and flat-topped ridges.
A single leaf on a winged elm. Leaves are 4-7 cm long, about twice as long as wide, coarsely double toothed, long pointed at the apex, rounded at the base, dark green and smooth or slightly rough above, and paler and softly hairy below.
The underside of a winged elm leaf, showing the whitened veins.
The corky projections, or "wings" of a winged elm branch. The wings are often arranged opposite from each other. Also visible in this picture are the orange, small, raised lenticels.
A bud on a winged elm. Leaf buds are 2-3 mm long, flattened, pointed, and somewhat scurfy.
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