Tall and squat, powerful and sophisticated, with a sprawling chic crown and beautiful leaves - these royal trees serve as a worthy decoration for the streets of many cities. Elms are constantly planted in parks, alleys, squares and courtyards of residential buildings. In the modern world, their noble genus has more than 20 species. The elm tree appeared about 40 million years ago, it is believed that it was then that it stood out in an independent family. He was revered for his unusual qualities by the ancient Greeks and Romans. It is known that in antiquity the elm grew in a significant part of the Apennine Peninsula. And according to the old Slavic legend, Svarog himself, the revered god of the Eastern Slavs, walked at the trunk of this wonderful tree, along with the goddess of love Lada.
Elm, which literally means "flexible rod", belongs to the genus of very ancient elm trees. In Europe, they are called elms (from the Celtic word elm), and among the Turkic peoples, elms are better known as elms.
Description of the elm tree
Mature trees of most elm specieslook like powerful giants, sometimes reaching a height of up to 40 meters, and in trunk diameter - up to 2 meters. Their crowns are dense, cylindrical in shape. The bark on the trunks is a rich dark brown color and the tree remains smooth for a long time.
Elms bloom in April-May from a few days to a week: small greenish-yellow flowers are collected in spherical bunches. At the place of flowering, flattened nut fruits sprout, bordered by wings. They ripen with the onset of heat, and, picked up by the wind, are carried throughout the district. The branched elm is densely leafed with characteristic serrated edges. A slight slope can be observed at the base of the oval leaves.
When describing an elm tree, it is worth mentioning its root system, which can successfully compete with oak. This is a highly developed network with separate roots reaching both to the surface and to the depth. In podzolic soils, they diverge widely from each other. Sometimes, especially in large trees, disc-shaped roots can form at the foot of the trunk, which serve as a support for them.
Features of elms
A remarkable feature of elm trees is that some of their species can grow on rather difficult soils. They perfectly tolerate drought, winds, severe frosts, and are able to grow on saline lands. That is why these trees have become indispensable in steppe forest plantations, shelterbelts and water protection zones. But elms grow more safely where the soils are rich and loose. Thus, their life expectancy will depend entirely on the conditionsgrowing environment, and usually averages 200-400 years.
Planted elms with their powerful beautiful crown look decorative and give a diffused shadow, so they are often used for planting greenery in cities. They look great both single and group landings. The foliage has a bright color and, depending on the type of trees and the season, is full of burgundy, yellow-orange, green, brown colors. Elm leaves tolerate exhaust gases well, purify the air, and trap dust.
Elm forests
In nature, pure elm forests are extremely rare. Their mass plantings are observed in coniferous-deciduous and broad-leaved forests in Asia, Europe, Scandinavia, North America, and the Balkans. And if in Europe smooth, rough, elliptical, leaf elm is more common, then in Asia it is squat, valley, lobed elm, and in America - American elm.
In Russia, deciduous elm trees grow in the Far East, the Southern Urals, the southeastern part of the Russian Plain and the Central region. The most common forests with the following types of elm: leaf, lobed, small-leaved, smooth, cork, mountain (rough), large-fruited and Japanese. Preferring fertile soils, they grow mainly along the shores of lakes and in floodplains. The total area of such plantations is 500 thousand hectares.
Smooth elm
Ilm smooth (or ordinary) can be found mainly in broad-leaved forests in the territory of central Russia, Siberia, andalso in Kazakhstan. The elm tree easily tolerates shade and harsh winters, but prefers moist and fertile soils. Its height is on average 25 meters, and the wide crown is presented in the form of a ball. Elms of this species live up to 300 years, and their intensive growth is observed immediately after planting.
The feature of the smooth elm is thin hanging branches with a smooth and shiny bark. In older trees, this bark cracks and eventually forms peeling plates. The elliptical leaves have a smooth surface on one side, and the reverse is covered with hairs. As autumn approaches, they take on a rich purple color.
Large-fruited elm
The large-fruited elm is common in China, Korea, Mongolia and the Russian Far East. The species got its name due to the large edible fruits. Elm looks like a shrub or small tree 6-8 meters high. Its dark brown or gray bark is capable of cracking deeply. The leaves have a pointed apex and an unequal wedge-shaped base, and are edged with short serrated teeth along the edges. Being one of the most unpretentious and drought-resistant plants, elm grows in open places: along rocky crevices, ravines, on rocky slopes, at the foot of hills and along screes along rivers.
Spreading impressive crown, shiny leaves and large fruits make this type of elm decorative, as a result of which it is successfully used in landscape design and urban greening.
Small-leaved elm
Small-leaved (or squat) elm under natural conditions is widely distributed on the islands of Japan, northern Mongolia, eastern Kazakhstan, the Far East and Transbaikalia of Russia. It is also successfully cultivated in North America and Southern Europe. Mature trees of this species have an insignificant height and barely reach 15 meters, and the diameter of the trunk is no more than a meter. Elms have a dense tent-shaped crown, sometimes growing as a bush. The slender yellowish green branches are strewn with small, simple, elliptical or broadly lanceolate leaves 2 to 7 cm long. They turn olive yellow in autumn.
Small-leaved elm is very light-loving and unpretentious to the soil, it also tolerates frost and drought very well. Thanks to such biological features, it is successfully used in shelterbelts and for the restoration of the forest fund.
Elm lobe
Elm lobed (or cut) biologically close to rough elm, common in Europe. Under natural conditions, it is found in the Far East, Sakhalin, Japan, Korea and China. It grows mainly in mixed forests of foothill areas and on mountain slopes, making its way to a height of up to 700 meters above sea level. The species owes its name to the original shape of large leaf blades resembling blades. Its trees with a dense cylindrical crown reach an average of 25 meters in height.
Blade elm grows very slowly, by the age of 30 its growth is only 8 meters. He's overdemanding on soils, in comparison with its other relatives, and unstable to s alts. At the same time, it is shade-tolerant, wind-resistant and frost tolerant, although young elm trees often freeze slightly in winter.
Scotch Elm
Rough elm (or mountain) grows in Eastern and Western Europe, is found in deciduous forests and in the European part of Russia. Straight-stemmed trees have a smooth dark bark with brown branches and a rounded lush crown. Large dark green leaves on very short petioles grow in strict order, so the foliage hardly transmits light. It has a rough surface on top and a hairy bottom, outwardly presenting certain patterns. As autumn approaches, the leaves turn a deep yellow.
Rough elm is demanding on soil and humidity, but gets along well in urban conditions - it is gas resistant. Under favorable environmental conditions, the elm tree reaches a height of up to 35 meters and lives up to 400 years.
Hornbeam Elm
Hornbeam Elm is a luxurious deciduous tree with a spreading crown, reaching a height of up to 35 meters and a trunk diameter of more than 150 cm. It is common in the Caucasus, Central Asia, North Africa and the European part of Russia. The wide trunk of the tree is covered with smooth bark from below, and becomes rough in the area where the branches appear. Its long branches are spread like a fan and covered with serrate unequal-sided leaves, very diverse in size. The elm tree blooms generously in spring with small flowers, andcloser to autumn, it bears fruit with white nuts.
In the people, this kind of elm is better known as elm. It is characterized by strong s alt tolerance and drought resistance, so it is widely used in steppe breeding, arid areas, shelterbelts.
Breeding
Elms reproduce by self-sowing. Their seeds ripen in May-June and lose their germination capacity in a short time. Therefore, only freshly harvested material will be suitable for planting. In nature, they can also reproduce as shoots and root offspring, but for amateur nurseries, such methods are ineffective when breeding trees.
Elm seeds are recommended to be stored in good ventilation conditions for no more than one week until sowing. A couple of days before planting, they are moistened and treated with a fungicide. Planting sites do not need preliminary preparation, but a little mineral fertilizer can be applied to the soil. Seeds are sown in rows at a distance of 20-30 cm between the pits in a shallow depth - only 1 cm. They are covered with hay, moss or a thin layer of soil from above and watered well. Shoots are shown in a week. In the first year of life, elms grow up to 15 cm, in subsequent years they add up to 40 cm.
Interesting facts
- The famous London Bridge owes its stability to the elm wood used in its construction.
- An elm tree growing in Korea is over 800 years old. It is quite small in height, only 7 meters, but in diameterreaches almost 2 meters.
- In ancient times, the elm was used as a support for the vineyard, causing it to become associated among the Greeks with Dionysus, the god of winemaking.
- Elm fruits are widely used in Chinese cuisine and are a common ingredient in salads.
- The aroma of elm wood acts on a person as an antidepressant, gives a sedative effect.
- Until recently, on Povarskaya Street in Moscow, a long-lived elm tree, which witnessed the fires of 1812, "while away" its old age. But the tree could not stand the abnormal heat of 2010 and withered.
- Many buildings of the beautiful Venice, the famous city on the water, stand on piles made of elm.
- The Slavic name for the elm tree comes from the verb "to knit", since the twigs of the tree were successfully used in the process of knitting sleighs, baskets and other household utensils.
- In England, elm and vine symbolize faithful lovers.
