Ulmus rubra
species of plant
Ulmus rubra, the slippery elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America. Other common names include red elm, gray elm, soft elm, moose elm, and Indian elm. It is closely related to the European wych elm (U. glabra), which has a very similar flower structure but lacks the pubescence over the seed.
Description
Ulmus rubra is a medium-sized deciduous tree with a spreading head of branches, commonly growing to 12–19 metres (39–62 feet), very occasionally over 30 m (98 ft) in height. Its heartwood is reddish-brown. The broad oblong to obovate leaves are 10–20 centimetres (4–8 inches) long, rough above but velvety below, with coarse double-serrate margins, acuminate apices and oblique bases; the petioles are 6–12 millimetres (1⁄4–15⁄32 in) long. The leaves are often tinged red on emergence, turning dark green by summer and a dull yellow in autumn. The perfect, apetalous, wind-pollinated flowers are produced before the leaves in early spring, usually in tight, short-stalked, clusters of 10–20. The reddish-brown fruit is an oval winged samara, orbicular to obovate, slightly notched at the top, 12–18 mm (15⁄32–23⁄32 in) long, the single, central seed coated with red-brown hairs, naked elsewhere.
The species superficially resembles American elm (Ulmus americana), but is chiefly distinguished from American elm by its downy twigs, chestnut brown or reddish hairy buds, and slimy red inner bark.
The public source identifies “Ulmus rubra” as species of plant. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Ulmus, rubra and species.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Ulmus rubra”, the useful work is to connect “species of plant” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1534893. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Ulmus rubra” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.