American Elm

The American elm was the most popular tree to plant in the booming cities of the 19th century, so that by the 20th century many streets were lined with only elms and were shaded in summer by a cathedral-like ceiling of their branches.1

When Dutch elm disease (which actually originated in Asia) spread to the US in the 1950s, it was able to mow down elm after elm through their grafted root
systems or with the help of a beetle.1

The American Elm has the most asymmetrical base of any elm leaf. The American elm may only have a partially rough surface, if not completely smooth. The bark of the American Elm is predictably patterned with vertical ridges and furrows.2