Extension Forestry
SlipperyElm - Ulmus rubra
Leaves are alternate, simple, double-toothed with unequal leaf bases.
The slippery elm in found throughout Iowa on moist slopes and rich bottomlands.
It has an irregular, open crown. The leaves are similar to the
American elm, but are larger - 5 to 7 inches long. Leaves are
dark greenabove and paler green beneath, and are rough, feeling raspy or
sandpapery. Thebuds are large, rounded, reddish brown and fuzzy.
The twigs are gray and grow upward. They are not bitter when chewed, but
fragrant, creating a slimy, mucilage-like substance. From this characteristic
the tree gets the name of slippery elm. 
The inner bark is fragrant and slick and the outer bark is thick, dark grayish
brown and broken by shallow fissures into flat ridges. The bark is not made up of alternate brown and creamy layers as is the American elm.
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Contact: Paul Wray
Last Update: January, 2001