Lacebark Elm

Tree Description:

A medium-sized landscape tree to 40 feet tall, with a broad, vase-shaped crown and graceful, drooping branchlets.

Range/Site Description:

Native to China, Japan, and Korea, this common landscape tree has several cultivars. It tolerates a wide range of site conditions, including drought, some salt, and alkaline soils.

Leaf:

Simple, alternate, 1" to 3" long, generally oval in shape, margin finely- or bluntly-toothed, leaf base slightly inequilateral, leaf surface usually dark green, dull.

Flower:

Green, inconspicuous, appearing in the fall.

Fruit:

Small, round, seeds enclosed in a papery wing up to 0.33" long.

Bark:

Thin and dark brown when young, with horizontal lenticels appearing on branches and trunk; older trees develop random exfoliating patches that reveal brown, gray, orange, or green bark underneath.

Wood:

Sold in nurseries as a landscape tree.

Similar Species:

Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila) has been widely planted for shade in West Texas and has thick, grayish bark. Japanese zelkova (Zelkova serrata) is a landscape tree with smooth gray, exfoliating bark and leaves 3-6" long.