TREES OF PARKFAIRFAX: AMERICAN ELM

One of our best native trees is the American Elm. Most American small towns and many cities of the past two centuries cultivated this beautifully sculptured tree.  There are more Elm Streets in American towns and cities than “Main Streets”. The famous Boston “Liberty Tree” was an American Elm.  Today, the beauty of our streets and countryside has been diminished by the loss of most of these trees to a foreign fungus (called Dutch Elm Disease) spread by a beetle. Very few American Elms have survived, but Parkfairfax has several.  Two can be found on Martha Custis Drive. One is at the intersection of Martha Custis and Gunston Road at the Shirlington Circle, adjacent to the overpass ramp  to Shirlington. The second is on Martha Custis in front of Building 827.   

The American Elm is noteworthy because of its unique vase-shaped form. The tree grows to 60-80 feet tall with a 30-50 foot spread.  Leaves are 4-6 inches long, one to 3 inches wide, smooth or sandpaper on top and usually somewhat hairy beneath. The leaf margins are coarsely and sharply doubly serrated. According to Dirr, the dark green leaves turn “butter-yellow to rich yellow” in fall. Bark is dark ashy gray, flat-topped ridges separated by diamond-shaped fissures.

The National Arboretum has produced clones that are resistant to the disease, ‘Valley Forge’ and ‘New Harmony’.  If these and others are successful the American Elm may once more grace our streets in abundance.     

For more information:

Dirr, Michael A., Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs. Timber Press, 1997

www.cnr.vt.edu/DENDRO/DENDROLOGY/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID41

www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume _21

Correction  In last month’s article the tree on Greenway Place was incorrectly identified as a European Elm.  It is an American Beech.