Wych elm

Wych elm is a native woodland tree found mostly in the northern areas of Britain. Sadly, most large and old trees have been lost to Dutch Elm disease.

What other names does it have?

Can also be known as	Elem Elven Emmel Holm Lem (Old Irish) Wyce (Old English) Elm-wych Bough elm Wychwood Scotch elm
Generic name	Elm
Latin name	Ulmus glabra
Family name	Elm
Latin family name	Ulmaceae

What type of tree is it?

Is it a broadleaf or conifer?	It is a broadleaf
Does it lose its leaves in autumn?	Yes, it is deciduous

Species description:

Average height	16-30m

Leaf

Description	The largest leaf of any native tree. In shape elms have characteristic asymetrical bases and at the other end taper to a sudden point. The leaves are prominently toothed around the edge.
Shape	Oval
Size	10-16cm long
Colour	Green
Leaf bud	Hairy purplish black buds which are squat in shape
Leaf stalk	Short stalk
Leaf arrangement	Alternate

Flower, seed, and fruit

Type of flower	Other
Flower size	Around 2cm long
Flowering season	February or March
Tree/flower sex	Both sexes
Fruit colour	Light brown
Fruit season	Mid-summer
Type of seed body	Small winged seed
Seeds dispersed by	Wind

Bark and twig

Bark description	Smooth and grey when young becoming grey-brown with shaggy ridges after 20 years
Twig Description	Dark grey in colour and coarsely hairy

What other trees are similar?

Can easily be confused with?	Other closely related elms

Where is it usually found?

Is it native or non-native to the British Isles?	Native
Where is its natural range?	Britain and Ireland although concentrated in the west and north
Preferred soil type or environmental conditions?	Occurs in woods often alongside streams predominantly in upland areas
What is its British conservation status?	Occasional

Additional information

Human uses of tree and timber

Uses of elm are primarily for the wood. It has great strength, durability, a tight-twisted grain and is resistant to water. Uses include: boat building (keels, rudders and trawler boards) furniture, wheel hubs, wooden water pipes, floorboards, coffins and in decorative turning. In fact before metal was widely available many English towns had elm water mains, including Bristol, Reading, Exeter, Southampton, Hull and Liverpool. Some of these old water mains still survive and are occasionally dug up during building works. The foliage was also used for feeding and bedding domestic livestock.

Tree lore and folklore

Elms used to be associated with melancholy and death, perhaps this is because they can drop old branches without warning (to the danger of those underneath) or perhaps because elm was the dominant wood for coffins. There is much in literature celebrating and describing the elm, as they were a very key and obvious part of the landscape, but little more folklore. In some counties or towns there are overtures to fertility and relationships to different christian festivals when people would gather under a particular elm for to sing psalms. In Lichfield, it was the custom to carry elm twigs in a procession around the Cathedral Close on Ascension Day, then to throw them in the font.

Wych Elm

Wych Elm bark

Illustrations supplied by
Collins

BritishTrees