Index / Search / Ulmus americana

§1 Plant — species · Ulmaceae

Ulmus americana L.

vernacular American elm


USDA
ULAM
GBIF
5361872
Rank
species
American elm (Ulmus americana)
Platephotograph · William Van HemessenCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Tree
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Ulmaceae Mirb.
Genus
Ulmus
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Medium
Shade
Medium
Moisture use
High
Fire
Low
Salinity
Low
Anaerobic
Low
CaCO₃
Medium
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-46 °F minimum
Frost-free days
80 min.
Precipitation
15–70 in/yr
pH range
5–8
Root depth
42 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
coarse, medium, fine
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Single Stem
Growth rate
Rapid
Lifespan
Moderate
Mature height
120 ft
Height @ 20 y
50 ft
Foliage texture
Coarse
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Dense
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Green
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Early Spring
Seed abundance
High
Seed begins
Spring
Seed ends
Spring
Spread rate
Rapid
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
70,900
Propagation
seed, cuttings, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
No
Browse palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Lumber
Yes
Fuelwood
Medium
Christmas tree
No

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 14 of 56 Montana counties.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/ULAM ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/5361872 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z