Rock elm

Leaves

Form

• Leathery
• Upper surface shiny, smooth
• Lower surface somewhat hairy
• About 20 veins per side, rarely forked

Length

• 5–10 cm

Colour

• Upper surface very dark green
• Lower surface paler

Autumn colour

• Bright yellow

Margin

• Teeth incurved

Buds

Form

• Conical, sharp-pointed, plump at the base
• Diverging from the twig
• 3–6 vein scars per leaf scar

Length

• 5 mm

Colour

• Dark reddish-brown

Margin

• Hairy

Twigs

Form

• Slender, often covered with fine hairs during the 1st year, becoming smooth
• Branchlets usually develop irregular corky ridges in the 2nd season

Colour

• Light yellowish-brown, becoming dark reddish-brown or ash-grey

Flowers

Form

• In clusters with a central stalk (racemes)

Structure

• Synoecious

Fruits

Form

• Oval, hairy
• Wing pointed at both ends, narrow, not clearly distinct from seedcase, tip shallowly notched

Length

• 10–15 mm

Margin

• Noticeably hairy

Bark

Form

• Shaggy, separated into broad, flat-topped ridges by wide, irregular, interrupted furrows
• Surface broken into large irregular scales, often with a mottled appearance similar to white elm

Colour

• Dark grey, tinged with red

Wood

Uses

• Formerly in the manufacture of piano frames and hockey sticks

Size

Height

• To 25 m

Diameter

• To 75 cm

Maximum age

• 175 years

Tree form

Forest-grown

Trunk

• Distinct almost to the top of the tree

Crown

• Cylindrical or somewhat oval
• Principal branches comparatively short; lower ones drooping, often crooked and gnarled, with thick ridged bark
• General appearance rough and shaggy

Root system

• Deep, wide-spreading

Habitat

Site

• Most often on heavy clay soils of limestone ridges, but also on a variety of other soils

Light tolerance

• Moderately shade-tolerant but requires full sunlight for vigorous growth