Ulmus minor

English elm, English Elm

Family: Ulmaceae · Type: tree · Not Native

English elm is a naturalized tree found in northern coastal interior California, Sierra Nevada foothills, Sacramento Valley, central coast, southwestern California, and desert regions in areas near old plantings at elevations of 10 to 1,000 meters. Flowering from February to March, this tree produces small clusters of flowers that emerge before its leaves in early spring. Growing to 40 meters tall with distinctive bark that splits into ridges or plates, it features branches with unique corky warts and winter buds that range from red-brown to nearly black. Its leaves are oblong or bluntly elliptical, 5.5 to 11.3 centimeters long with double-serrated margins and pubescent surfaces, particularly on the underside and veins. The tree produces broadly elliptical pale green fruits 1.7 to 2 centimeters long that are mostly glabrous except for pubescence near the stigmatic surface.

Habitat: Spreading by root suckers near old plantings

Bloom period: Feb-Mar

Elevation: 10-1000 m

Bioregions: NCoRI, SNF, ScV, CCo, SW, DSon

California counties: Los Angeles, Inyo, San Bernardino, San Diego, Contra Costa, Napa, Ventura, Placer, Butte, Alameda, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Yolo, Solano, San Mateo, Monterey, Imperial, Sacramento

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.