Ulmus glabra seed

LATIN NAME: ULMUS GLABRA

COMMON NAME: Wych Elm

The wych elm flutters the tall, broad-crowned, deciduous tree with the large, double-toothed, oval leaves with the unequal bases and the long, pointed tips, the small, red-purple flowers opening in the tight clusters along the bare twigs in the early spring before the leaves, and the round, winged samaras following, each seed wrapped in the flat, papery wing that twirls away on the wind. The young bark is smooth and grey, becoming the ridged, grey-brown bark with the age. It stands the cold well, and it likes the sun or the part shade, and the deep, moist, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The wind-dispersed samaras of the wych elm give it a recognised place in the research on the cold-climate woodland trees of the elm family, and the species appears in the studies of the early flowering and the seed dispersal. The work looks at the way the tree flowers before the leaf, the papery wing that carries the seed on the wind, and the resistance to the elm diseases. The foresters value the tough, elastic timber, and the growers of the stately native trees keep the species in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the park, the woodland and the large garden, the wych elm flutters the winged seeds through the spring air. The broad crown gives the deep shade and the shelter for the birds, and the timber has served the boat-building, the furniture and the joinery for the ages. It thrives in the deep, moist, well-drained, sunny or lightly shaded ground. Stately, broad and spring-fluttering.

To grow the Wych Elm from seed, collect the ripe samaras as they begin to flutter, then sow them fresh and shallow into the moist drills of the open bed, keep the drills moist, and the young trees appear within a few weeks.

Keep the drills gently watered, and give the young trees the room to grow. The broad crown comes over the years. Settle the young trees in the deep, moist ground, and the broad crown will flutter over the years.

Ulmus glabra, the wych elm or Scots elm,
Overview: wych elm is hard to tell apart from English elm. Mature trees can grow to a height of 30m. The bark is smooth and grey when young, becoming grey-brown and fissured after 20 years. Twigs are dark grey and covered in coarse hairs, and leaf buds are hairy, purple-black and squat in shape.
Leaves: toothed, and at 7-16cm in length, they are larger than those of any other native tree. They have a characteristic asymmetrical base and taper to a sudden point at the top.
Flowers: appear before the leaves in early spring. They are red-purple in colour, and appear in clusters of 10 to 20, spaced out along the twigs and small branches. Elms are hermaphrodite, meaning that both male and female reproductive parts are contained within each flower.
Fruits: once pollinated by wind, flowers develop into small, winged fruits known as samaras. These are dispersed by wind.