Ulmus americana
species of plant
Ulmus americana, generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America. The trees can live for several hundred years. It is a very hardy species that can withstand low winter temperatures. The American elm was once exceptionally common as a street tree, its tolerance of urban conditions making it a popular choice to line American streets in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The coming of beetles bearing Dutch elm disease devastated the American elm population, starting in the 1920s. The species still holds out in some locations, but is also no longer nearly as common as during its height.
The wood was seldom utilized until the advent of mechanical sawing, for its interlocking grain is difficult to split and tends to bind on saws. It is the state tree of Massachusetts and North Dakota.
Description
The American elm is a deciduous tree which, under ideal conditions, can grow to heights of 21 to 35 meters (69 to 115 feet). The trunk may have a diameter at breast height (dbh) of more than 1.2 m (4 ft), supporting a high, spreading umbrella-like canopy.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Ulmus americana” is species of plant. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Ulmus, americana and species, not as a finished interpretation.
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The phrase “species of plant” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q469382. The Library of Congress control number is sh85004315. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. 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 americana” 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.