Curious bark of the winged elm

Ulmus alata

This tree, with winged bark on its twigs, grows in a fence row along a low-lying pasture. Another of these trees grows near our mailbox, also in a fence row near a small creek.

I tried to identify them about a dozen years ago and I decided they must be winged elm. The leaves are smaller than most elms, but they have the rough texture, veining pattern, and general shape of elm leaves.

Birds eat elm seeds, and that may be the reason that the two ulmus alata in my personal experience are growing in fence rows. (The growth in rural fence rows usually reflects what birds have been eating.)

The various reference books and websites I've been looking at this evening don't agree at all about the height that winged elm can be expected to attain. Estimates range from 40 feet to 100 feet. I'm sure it depends on the location and the amount of sunlight the tree receives. (Winged elms like a sunny location.)

The two winged elms in my experience are nondescript, rather scrubby little trees about 15 to 20 feet tall. Their blooms and seeds are inconspicuous in early spring. In the summer, their leaves are usually bug-eaten, and in fall the foliage turns yellow.

The most interesting thing about the appearance of the winged elm is the wings on their twigs. The corky growth is most noticable in winter . When no leaves are present, the silhouette of the branches is irregular and rather fuzzy-looking.

Winged elm would be a risky choice as a landscape tree because it is susceptible to Dutch elm disease, powdery mildew, and other diseases, wilts, etc.