''Ulmus serotina'' Sarg., the September elm, is an autumn-flowering North American species of tree. It is uncommon beyond

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

; it is only very locally distributed through

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, and disjunct populations into

Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...

, Mexico. It grows predominantly on

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

bluffs and along streams to elevations of 400 m.Duncan, W. H., & Duncan, M. B. (2000). ''Trees of the Southeastern United States'', 234–238. Athens, Georgia, USA.

Description

Rarely exceeding 20 m in height, the tree has a rounded crown with spreading to pendulous branches. The glabrous young shoots become progressively corky-winged with age, and bear

oblong An oblong is a non-square rectangle. Oblong may also refer to: Places * Oblong, Illinois, a village in the United States * Oblong Township, Crawford County, Illinois, United States * A strip of land on the New York-Connecticut border in the Unit ...

obovate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

leaves <8 cm long. The wind-pollinated

apetalous Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usually ...

perfect flower Plant reproductive morphology is the study of the physical form and structure (the morphology) of those parts of plants directly or indirectly concerned with sexual reproduction. Among all living organisms, flowers, which are the reproductive s ...

s form pendulous

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s, which open in September and serve to distinguish the species from its cogenitor, the cedar elm ''U. crassifolia'', with which it readily hybridizes. The samarae are oblong-elliptical, 10–15 mm in length, deeply divided at the apex, and ripen in Novembe

Image:Gardenology.org-IMG 2477 ucla09.jpg, ''U. serotina'' bark File:Gardenology.org-IMG 2476 ucla09.jpg, Bole of same Image:SHHG Serotina foliage.jpg, ''U. serotina'' foliage Image:Ulmus serotina.jpg, ''U. serotina'' in fruit File:Elmwood Cemetery 2010-10-09 Memphis TN 20.jpg, September elm in October, Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee (2010)

Pests and diseases

The species is highly susceptible to

Dutch elm disease Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by a member of the sac fungi (Ascomycota) affecting elm trees, and is spread by elm bark beetles. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease was accidentally introduced into Americas, America ...

Cultivation

Before the outbreak of Dutch elm disease, ''U. serotina'' enjoyed limited popularity as a shade tree in the southern part of its range. The tree grows well on most soils, but is intolerant of

anaerobic Anaerobic means "living, active, occurring, or existing in the absence of free oxygen", as opposed to aerobic which means "living, active, or occurring only in the presence of oxygen." Anaerobic may also refer to: * Anaerobic adhesive, a bonding a ...

saline Saline may refer to: * Saline (medicine), a liquid with salt content to match the human body * Saline water, non-medicinal salt water * Saline, a historical term (especially US) for a salt works or saltern Places * Saline, Calvados, a commune in ...

conditions; it is also frost tolerant to -30° C (-23° F). The September elm is very rare in cultivation in Europe;Bean, W. J. (1981). ''Trees and shrubs hardy in Great Britain'', 7th edition. Murray, London. it was briefly propagated and marketed in the UK by the Hillier and Sons nursery,

Winchester, Hampshire Winchester is a cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, at the western end of the South Downs National Park, on the River Itchen. It is south-west of Londo ...

, from 1972 to 1977, when 16 were sold.Hillier & Sons (1977). ''Catalogue of Trees & Shrubs''. Hillier, Ampfield, UK.Hillier & Sons ''Sales inventory 1962 to 1977'' (unpublished). It is not known to have been introduced to Australasia. No

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s of this taxon are known, nor is it known to be in commerce.

Notable trees

The US national champion, measuring 25.5 m high in 2007, grows in

Davidson County, Tennessee Davidson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the heart of Middle Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 715,884, making it the second most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Nashville ...

.American Forests. (2012). ''The 2012 National Register of Big Trees.''

Hybrids

* ''Ulmus × arkansana''

Accessions

;North America *

Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden The Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located on the southeastern corner of the University of California, Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles (University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA) campus, California, United States. ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, Los Angeles,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, US. (''No details available'') *

Morton Arboretum The Morton Arboretum, in Lisle, Illinois, United States, is a public garden, and outdoor museum with a library, herbarium, and program in tree research including the Center for Tree Science. Its grounds, covering 1,700 acres (6.9 square kilometres ...

, US. Acc. no. 1039-23. * U S National Arboretumbr>

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, US. Acc. no. 55431. ;Europe *

Grange Farm Arboretum The Grange Farm Arboretum is a small private arboretum comprising 3 hectares accommodating over 800 trees, mostly native and ornamental species or cultivars, notably oaks, ashes, walnuts and elms, growing on a calcareous loam.Ostler, J. (2009) ' ...

Sutton St James Sutton St James is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England, about south-west of Long Sutton. Lying in the Lincolnshire Fens, Sutton St James did not exist at the time of the 1086 ''Domesday Book''. Su ...

, Spalding,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, UK. Acc. no. not known. *

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

, UK. Acc. no. 20080091, from seed wild collected in USA.Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. (2017). ''List of Living Accessions: Ulmus'

/ref> *

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

, UK. Acc. no. not known. * Royal Botanic Gardens,

Wakehurst Place Wakehurst, previously known as Wakehurst Place, is a house and botanic gardens in West Sussex, England, owned by the National Trust but used and managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It is near Ardingly, West Sussex in the High Weald (g ...

, UK. Acc. no. 2006-143. *

Sir Harold Hillier Gardens The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens is an arboretum comprising 72 hectares (180 acres) accommodating over 42,000 trees and shrubs in about 12,000 taxa, notably a collection of oaks, camellia, magnolia and rhododendron. The Gardens are located nor ...

, UK. Acc. no. 2004.1059, 3 trees, collected in Tennessee, 2004. *

Thenford Thenford is a village and civil parish about northwest of the market town of Brackley in West Northamptonshire, England, and east of Banbury in nearby Oxfordshire. The 2001 Census recorded the parish population as 74. At the 2011 Census the ...

House arboretum,

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

, UK. No details available. *

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

, Botanic Garden, Denmark. No details available.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2110146 serotina Trees of the Southeastern United States Trees of the Southern United States Flora of Nuevo León Ulmus articles with images Elm species and varieties