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| Cedar elm | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cedar elm |
| Genus | Ulmus |
| Species | U. crassifolia |
| Authority | Nutt. |
| Family | Ulmaceae |
| Native range | North America |
Cedar elm
Cedar elm is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to North America noted for its rough bark and small serrated leaves. It is valued in urban forestry, riparian restoration, and cultural landscapes across parts of the United States and Mexico because of its drought tolerance and association with diverse plant and animal communities. Prominent in ecological studies, restoration projects, and horticultural trials, it is often compared in management literature with species such as Quercus stellata, Prosopis glandulosa, Pinus ponderosa, Acer rubrum, and Platanus occidentalis.
The species produces a broad crown with an irregular silhouette similar to specimens observed in collections at the United States National Arboretum, Missouri Botanical Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Arnold Arboretum, and New York Botanical Garden. Leaves are typically small and asymmetric, resembling those described in floras from the Smithsonian Institution, Field Museum of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, Texas A&M University, and University of Texas at Austin herbaria. Bark becomes deeply fissured, a characteristic noted in dendrology guides published by American Forests, International Society of Arboriculture, Society of American Foresters, Royal Forestry Society, and Canadian Forest Service. Inflorescences and samarae have been documented in phenological datasets managed by NOAA, USDA Forest Service, NatureServe, Botanic Gardens Conservation International, and Conservation International.
Described by Thomas Nuttall, the taxon appears in historic treatments housed at Harvard University Herbaria, Kew Gardens Library, Biodiversity Heritage Library, Smithsonian Libraries, and Natural History Museum, London. The binomial falls within the family Ulmaceae alongside taxa treated in monographs by Linnaeus, Aiton, Bentham and Hooker, Engler, and contributions to the Flora of North America project. Synonymy and nomenclatural history are discussed in catalogues maintained by International Plant Names Index, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Tropicos, The Plant List, and Catalogue of Life.
Natural populations occur across the south-central and southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico, with records in datasets curated by USGS, NatureServe Explorer, Mexican National Herbarium (MEXU), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Typical habitats include riparian corridors, limestone outcrops, and grassland-woodland ecotones, environments studied by researchers at Texas A&M Agrilife Research, University of Arizona, University of New Mexico, Oklahoma State University, and Louisiana State University. Its range overlaps the distributions of Juniperus ashei, Quercus texana, Celtis laevigata, Populus deltoides, and Salix nigra in regional vegetation surveys by USDA NRCS, EPA, Nature Conservancy, Audubon Society, and The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.
Cedar elm shows adaptations to periodic drought and fire regimes documented in ecological studies by Ecological Society of America, International Association for Landscape Ecology, Society for Ecological Restoration, American Society of Plant Biologists, and Ecology Letters. It provides cover and forage for birds and mammals monitored by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon Society, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Wildlife Conservation Society. Phenology and insect associations have been recorded in projects from Entomological Society of America, Integrated Taxonomic Information System, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Royal Entomological Society, and Canadian Entomological Society. Growth rates and longevity data appear in long-term plots maintained by ForestGEO, Long Term Ecological Research Network, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, International Long Term Ecological Research Network, and National Ecological Observatory Network.
Historically, the tree features in regional ethnobotanical accounts compiled by Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian, University of Oklahoma Press, Texas A&M University Press, and University of Arizona Press. Wood has been used locally for fuel and small crafts, while urban planting programs by City of Austin, Dallas Parks and Recreation, Houston Parks and Recreation Department, San Antonio River Authority, and Los Angeles County Arboretum document its role in municipal forestry. It appears in horticultural literature from Royal Horticultural Society, American Horticultural Society, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Chicago Botanic Garden, and Denver Botanic Gardens. Conservation and cultural landscape discussions have involved organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Parks Canada, English Heritage, and ICOMOS.
Propagation protocols and pest management recommendations are provided by extension services at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Clemson Cooperative Extension, University of Florida IFAS Extension, and Penn State Extension. Urban tree care standards referencing this species are published by ANSI A300, International Society of Arboriculture, American National Standards Institute, Arbor Day Foundation, and Urban Forestry South. Trials on drought resistance, pruning regimes, and landscape performance have been conducted by USDA ARS, Forest Service Southern Research Station, Southern Nursery Association, Plant Patent Office, and United States Botanic Garden.
Threats include habitat loss, invasive pests, and climate-mediated range shifts highlighted in reports by IUCN, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, USDA Forest Service Forest Health Protection, Center for Invasive Species Research, and National Invasive Species Council. Disease pressures are monitored by American Phytopathological Society, CABI, Plant Health Australia, European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization, and Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Conservation actions and germplasm repositories are coordinated through networks such as Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Seed Savers Exchange, Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, and regional seed banks associated with USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program.