Ulmus rubra
| Ulmus rubra | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 66' |
| Width: | 49' |
| Speed: | Moderate |
| Blooms: | Early Spring-Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Ulmus rubra (common name: slippery elm)
Propagation: Seed - if sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe, it usually germinates within a few days[1]. Stored seed does not germinate so well and should be sown in early spring[1], it requires 2 - 3 months stratification according to another report[2]. The seed can also be harvested 'green' (when it has fully developed but before it dries on the tree) and sown immediately in a cold frame. It should germinate very quickly and will produce a larger plant by the end of the growing season[3]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Plants should not be allowed to grow for more than two years in a nursery bed since they form a tap root and will then move badly.
Layering of suckers or coppiced shoots[1].
Cultivation: Prefers a fertile soil in full sun[4], but can be grown in any soil of at least moderate quality so long as it is well drained[5].
Plants are hardy to about -10°c[6].
A moderately fast-growing tree, living about 200 years in the wild[7], but although perfectly hardy, this species does not usually thrive in Britain[8].
Trees are often harvested in the wild for their edible inner bark, the 'slippery elm' that can be obtained from chemists and health food shops[K]. Trees have been over-exploited in the wild, plus they have also suffered from Dutch elm disease. As a result they are becoming much less common[6].
The slippery elm is very susceptible to 'Dutch elm disease', a disease that has destroyed the greater part of all the elm trees growing in Britain. The disease is spread by means of beetles. There is no effective cure (1992) for the problem, but most E. Asian, though not Himalayan, species are resistant (though not immune) to the disease so the potential exists to use these resistant species to develop new resistant hybrids with the native species[1].
The various species of this genus hybridize freely with each other and pollen is easily saved, so even those species with different flowering times can be hybridized[1].
Range: Central and Southern N. America - Maine to Florida, west to Texas and North Dakota.
Habitat: Rich deep soils, often calcareous, on the banks of streams and low rocky hillsides[9][10].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked.
Inner bark - raw or cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups or added to cereal flours when making bread etc[11][12][13][14][15]. It can also be chewed as a thirst quencher[16]. The inner bark has been cooked with fats in order to prevent them becoming rancid[17].
Immature fruit - raw or cooked[18]. The fruit is about 20mm in diameter[1].
A tea-like beverage can be brewed from the inner bark[17].
Medicinal: Slippery elm bark is a widely used herbal remedy and is considered to be one of the most valuable of remedies in herbal practice[19]. In particular, it is a gentle and effective remedy for irritated states of the mucous membranes of the chest, urinary tubules, stomach and intestines[20]. The inner bark contains large quantities of a sticky slime that can be dried to a powder or made into a liquid[7]. The inner bark is harvested in the spring from the main trunk and from larger branches, it is then dried and powdered for use as required[19]. Ten year old bark is said to be best[19]. Fine grades of the powder are best for internal use, coarse grades are better suited to poultices[6]. The plant is also part of a North American formula called essiac which is a popular treatment for cancer. Its effectiveness has never been reliably proven or disproven since controlled studies have not been carried out. The other herbs included in the formula are Arctium lappa, Rumex acetosella and Rheum palmatum[20].
The inner bark is demulcent, diuretic, emollient, expectorant, nutritive[19][21][22][23]. It has a soothing and healing effect on all parts of the body that it comes into contact with[19] and is used in the treatment of sore throats, indigestion, digestive irritation, stomach ulcers etc[24]. It used to be frequently used as a food that was a nutritive tonic for the old, young and convalescents[24]. It was also applied externally to fresh wounds, burns and scalds[24].
The bark has been used as an antioxidant to prevent fats going rancid[24].
The whole bark, including the outer bark, has been used as a mechanical irritant to abort foetuses[6]. Its use became so widespread that it is now banned in several countries[6].
Usage: A fibre obtained from the inner bark is used to make a twine[25][17]. The boiled bark has been used for making matting, nets etc[17].
The inner bark has been used in making baskets[17].
The bark has been used as a roofing material[17].
The weathered bark has been used as kindling for starting a fire[17].
Wood - very close-grained, tough, heavy, hard, strong, durable, easy to split. It weighs 43lb per cubic foot and is used for fence posts, window sills, agricultural implements etc[13][26][10][16].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Spring-Early Summer
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: U. fulva. Michx.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ McMillan-Browse, Philip. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books, 1985.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- ↑ Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Hylton, Josie and William Holtom. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press, 1979.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Harris, Ben. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health, 1973.
- ↑ Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Vines, Robert. Trees of North Texas. University of Texas Press, 1982.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Mills, Simon. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
- ↑ Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Bell, Lilian. Plant Fibres for Papermaking. Liliaceae Press, 1988.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.