Ulmus americana

Ulmus americana
Ulmus americana (American elm) in Northampton, Massachusetts

Apparently Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Ulmaceae
Genus: Ulmus
Subgenus: U. subg. Oreoptelea
Section: U. sect. Blepharocarpus
Species:
U. americana
Binomial name
Ulmus americana
Synonyms
List
    • Ulmus alba Raf.
    • Ulmus americana Planch.
    • Ulmus americana L. f. alba (Aiton) Fern.
    • Ulmus americana L. f. americana
    • Ulmus americana L. f. ascendens Slavin
    • Ulmus americana L. f. columnaris Rehd.
    • Ulmus americana L. f. intercedens Fern.
    • Ulmus americana L. f. laevior Fern.
    • Ulmus americana L. f. pendula (Aiton) Fern.
    • Ulmus americana L. f. viridis Seym.
    • Ulmus americana L. var. alba Aiton
    • Ulmus americana L. var. americana
    • Ulmus americana L. var. aspera Chapm.
    • Ulmus americana L. var. aurea Temple
    • Ulmus americana L. var. bartramii Planch.
    • Ulmus americana L. var. floridana (Chapm.) Little
    • Ulmus americana L. var. glabra Planch.
    • Ulmus americana L. var. pendula Aiton
    • Ulmus americana L. var. scabra Spach
    • Ulmus dentata Raf.
    • Ulmus floridana Chapm.
    • Ulmus mollifolia Marshall
    • Ulmus obovata Raf.
    • Ulmus pendula Willd.
    • Ulmus pubescens Walter

Ulmus americana, generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America. The trees can live for several hundred years. It is a very hardy species that can withstand low winter temperatures. The American elm was once exceptionally common as a street tree, its tolerance of urban conditions making it a popular choice to line American streets in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The coming of beetles bearing Dutch elm disease devastated the American elm population, starting in the 1920s. The species still holds out in some locations, but is also no longer nearly as common as during its height.

The wood was seldom utilized until the advent of mechanical sawing. It is the state tree of Massachusetts and North Dakota.