GLEBE TREES AND SHRUBS


Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila)

Leaves

May 10, 2008, Monk Ave. at the Beer Store parking lot. The leaves of Siberian elm are small and there is not much asymmetry of the bases.

Bark

Monk Ave. at the Beer Store parking lot, late April 2008 Note the much-elevated intersecting ridges in the bark. The trunks are quite special especially when viewed from a distance, looking like tiger stripes. March 21, 2009 A younger tree beside an older one. The bark is quite different.

Buds

March 21, 2009 The buds look like ticks.

Fruit

Monk Ave. at the Beer Store parking lot, late April 2008; Landsdowne Park, May 24, 2008 On May 19, 2008: the samaras are thick and whitish, looking like flowers from a distance and some have fallen. There are several tall elm there. I would like confirmation that this elm is correctly identified as Siberian elm. The samaras are small, in sessile clusters, hairless, with a shallow notch to the seedcase. Landsdowne Park, May 24, 2008 Fallen samaras.

Similar species

The three main elms in the Glebe are slippery, Siberian and American (white) elm. Siberian elm has smaller leaves with almost symmetrical bases. The samaras are devoid of hair. American elm leaves look a lot like slippery elm. The samaras have hairy fringes. I have not seen any big slippery elm, nor any samaras in the Glebe. While other elms can have rough leaves, none has the sandpaper texture of slippery elm. Birch leaves can resemble elm but are less rough and textured. List of trees and shrubs with alternate, simple, toothed leaves