Ulmus alata

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordoo: Rosales

Familia: Ulmaceae
Genus: Ulmus
Species: Ulmus alata
Name

Ulmus alata Michx., Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 173 (1803).
References
Additional references

Wiegrefe, S., Sytsma, K.J. & Guries, R.P. 1994. Phylogeny of Elms (Ulmus, Ulmaceae): Molecular Evidence for a Sectional Classification. Systematic Botany 19: 590–612. DOI: 10.2307/2419779 Reference page.
Jones, R.L. 2005. Plant life of Kentucky. An illustrated guide to the vascular flora. 833 pp. Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2331-3. JSTOR Paywall. Reference page.
Kral, R., Diamond, A.R., Ginzbarg, S., Hansen, C.J., Haynes, R.R., Keener, B.R., Lelong, M.G., Spaulding, D.D. & Woods, M. 2011. Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Alabama. Sida Botanical Miscellany 36: 112 pp. Fort Worth: Botanical Reseach Institute of Texas. ISBN 978-1-889878-34-8 Reference page.
Mohlenbrock, R.H. 2014. Vascular Flora of Illinois. A Field Guide. 4th ed., 536 pp. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, Ill. ISBN 978-0-8093-3208-3. Reference page.
Chester, E.W., Wofford, B.E., Shaw, J.T., Estes, D. & Webb, D.H. (eds.) 2015. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Tennessee. 813 pp., University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville. ISBN 978-1-62190-100-6. Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Ulmus alata in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 May 16. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Ulmus alata. Published online. Accessed: 16 May 2020.

Vernacular names
English: Winged Elm
Türkçe: Kanatlı karaağaç
українська: В'яз крилатий

Ulmus alata, the winged elm or wahoo, is a small- to medium-sized deciduous tree endemic to the woodlands of the southeastern and south-central United States. The species is tolerant of a wide range of soils, and of ponding, but is the least shade-tolerant of the North American elms. Its growth rate is often very slow, the trunk increasing in diameter by less than 5 mm (3⁄16 in) per year. The tree is occasionally considered a nuisance as it readily invades old fields, forest clearings, and rangelands, proving particularly difficult to eradicate with herbicides.[2]

Description

As its common and scientific[3] names imply, winged elm is most easily recognized by the very broad, thin pair of corky wings that form along the branchlets after a couple of years. The tree generally grows to a maximum height and breadth of about 13 m × 13 m (43 ft × 43 ft), although on fertile alluvial soils such as those of the Mississippi River Delta, some specimens have reached double this height (see 'Notable trees' below). The crown can be either rounded or pyramidal; the branches are pendulous.[4] The leaves are comparatively small for the genus, less than 6.5 cm (2+1⁄2 in) long and less than 2.0 cm (3⁄4 in) broad, oblong-lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, thin in texture, and smooth above with serrate or doubly serrate margins. The leaves turn bright yellow in Autumn. The wind-pollinated perfect apetalous flowers are borne on long pedicels in March and April before the leaves appear. The reddish samaras are also relatively small, less than 8 mm (5⁄16 in) long, narrowly elliptic with two long incurving stigmas at the tip,[5] and usually disperse before the end of April.[6][7]

Young Ulmus alata, showing corky bark-ridges

Leaves of Ulmus alata

Pests and diseases

Like the other North American species of elm, U. alata is very susceptible to Dutch elm disease and Elm Yellows (Elm phloem necrosis).[8]
Cultivation

Ulmus alata is rarely cultivated beyond its natural range. It remains in commercial production in the US, and is occasionally available in Europe. At the beginning of the 19th century, the tree was one of the three American elm species cultivated in ornamental plantations in Britain,[9] but is now rare there. Several specimens are grown in New Zealand.[10]
Notable trees

On the silty uplands of the Mississippi Delta, Ulmus alata can attain 27 m (89 ft) in height, although the trunk diameter rarely exceeds 60 cm (24 in) d.b.h. In the old growth Fernbank Forest in Atlanta, Georgia, the species attains heights up to 39 metres (128 ft). A tree measuring 40 metres (130 ft) high has been reported from the Congaree National Park in South Carolina.[11] However, the USA National Champion, measuring 27 metres (89 ft) high in 2009, grows in Hopewell, Virginia.[12][6]
Cultivars

Lace Parasol

Other uses

Ulmus alata is of minimal commercial significance, its hard timber considered no more remarkable than that of other American elms, and of limited use because of the commonly small size of the trees. However, owing to its resistance to splitting, it is used to make high-quality hockey sticks.[13]
Accessions

North America

Arnold Arboretum, US. Acc. no. 404-95, wild collected.
Bartlett Tree Experts,[14] US. Acc. no. 1438, unrecorded provenance.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden,[15] New York City, US. Acc. nos. 730275, X00886
Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest [7], Clermont, Kentucky, US. No details available.
Morton Arboretum, US. Acc. no. 116-96, wild collected Papoose Lake, Illinois.

Europe

Brighton & Hove City Council, UK. NCCPG Elm Collection.[16] One tree at East Brighton Park, UK champion 13 m (43 ft) high, 31 cm (12+1⁄4 in) d.b.h. in 2001.[17]
Grange Farm Arboretum, Lincolnshire, UK. Acc. no. 506
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK. Acc. no. 20080092, from seed wild collected in USA.[18]
Thenford House, Northamptonshire, UK. No details available.

Australasia

Manukau Cemetery & Crematorium, Auckland, New Zealand. No details available.

Nurseries

North America

Widely available.

Europe

Arboretum Waasland, Nieuwkerken-Waas, Belgium.
Grange Farm Plants, Spalding, Lincolnshire, UK.
Plantentuin Esveld, Netherlands.

Seed suppliers

Sheffield's Seeds Co. Inc., New York, US.

References

Stritch, L. (2019) [amended version of 2019 assessment]. "Ulmus alata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T61966604A180056609. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
University of Florida, Environmental Horticulture Department (1994). Fact Sheet ST-648. Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
Alata is Latin for "winged".
[1]
Photo of U. alata samarae, jimbotany.com/16-Catalog_Ra_through_Z-Ackn-LitCitd.htm, [2]
Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. Vol. VII. 1848–1929. Republished 2014 Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1-108-06938-0
Schnelle, M. (1999). Field Notes: Ulmus alata. American Nurseryman, page 1998, 1 March 1999. p. 98. Chicago
"Elm Phloem Necrosis".
Main, James (1839). The Forest Planter and Pruner's Assistant. London: Ridgway. p. 113.
Wilcox, Mike; Inglis, Chris (2003). "Auckland's elms" (PDF). Auckland Botanical Society Journal. Auckland Botanical Society. 58 (1): 38–45.
http://www.nativetreesociety.org/events/congaree2009/NewCongMaxList.xls
American Forests. (2012). The 2012 National Register of Big Trees.
Snow, G. A. "Ulmus alata Michx. Winged Elm". United States Department of Agriculture. Southern Research Station. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
[3]
[4]
"List of plants in the {elm} collection". Brighton & Hove City Council. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
Johnson, Owen (ed.) (2003). Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland. Whittet Press, ISBN 978-1-873580-61-5.
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. (2017). List of Living Accessions: Ulmus [5]