Students for Stewardship The Cork Board
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Cork Elm

Ulmus alata (ULM-us a-LAY-tuh)

Family: Ulmaceae Native Canopy (>40 ft)

Winged elm is a woody, deciduous tree in the elm family (Ulmaceae). It is native to eastern and central North America. Winged Elm grows 40 to 60 feet tall and 20 to 40 feet wide. It prefers full to partial sun and moist soil with good drainage. It tolerates different soil types, including those that contain loam, clay, sand or rocky material and is not particular about soil pH. The fertility of the soil and moisture determine the ultimate size of this tree. Regularly prune young trees to eliminate multiple trunks. It is propagated by seed. This elm is valuable to wildlife as a source of food, nesting and habitat. When grown in an open site, it has a short bole (the trunk below the crown) and branches arching upward to form a rounded crown. In a forested site, the tree tends to grow taller and straighter. The heavy wood is used for furniture, crates and boxes. Landscape uses for winged elm include woodlands and naturalized areas, shade trees or street trees, and butterfly, native, pollinator and winter gardens. In fall, the leaves turn yellow. Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems: Insect problems include beetles, borers, caterpillars, leaf miners, and scale. Particularly susceptible to Dutch Elm disease (a fatal fungal disease spread by beetles with no effective cure), powdery mildew, phloem necrosis, cankers, and leaf spots can be problems, especially on stressed trees. VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for "Trees, Shrubs and Conifers," a plant identification course developed in partnership with Longwood Gardens. More information on Ulmus .

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 68 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 1 - Canopy (>40 ft) Optimal soil pH Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Often confused with Betula nigra Carpinus caroliniana Ulmus parvifolia Zelkova schneideriana Zelkova serrata
Fills a similar niche Acer saccharinum Ulmus americana Ulmus rubra

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Native Plant; Perennial; Tree
Life cycle
Woody
USDA zones
6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Available space
24-60 feet; more than 60 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 40 ft. 0 in. - 60 ft. 0 in. | Width: 20 ft. 0 in. - 40 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
1 - Canopy (>40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Open; Pyramidal; Rounded; Vase
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Oblong; Ovate
Leaf margin
Doubly Dentate; Serrate
Leaf feel
Rough
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Alternate, ovate to elliptic, pointed, rough-textured dark green leaves (1.5 to 3.5 inches long) with doubly toothed margins and asymetrical bases. The leaves typically turn an undistinguished dull yellowish-green in fall.
Fall color
Insignificant
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Green
Flower form
Insignificant
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Insignificant, 1/4 inch, brownish-green flowers appear in clusters in late winter to early spring before the foliage emerges. The flower is typically very small with curling fuzzy stigmas. In North Carolina, flowers are available from February to March.
Bloom time
Spring; Winter
Fruit color
Black
Fruit type
Drupe; Samara
Fruit size
< 1 inch long
Fruit detail
Small drupe but very distinctive, covered with light colored fuzz, 1/3 inch long, tipped at the end with two long, curving bristles. The seeds mature in April-May as the leaves reach full size. In North Carolina, fruits are available from March to April.
Bark color
Dark Gray; Light Brown; Red/Burgundy
Bark detail
The bark is red-brown to ashy gray with flat topped ridges that are separated by irregular fissures. Scaly, shredding, patchy and grayish-brown, some reddish where bark exfoliates.
Stem detail
Stems usually have two wide corky ridges or wings.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Eastern and central North America
Distribution
Southeastern United States, Virginia to Florida, west to Illinois, Missouri, and Texas.
Wildlife value
This plant supports the following larvae: Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui), Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma), Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa), Question Mark Butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis). Questionmark butterflies have an interesting life cycles: overwintered adult Question Mark butterflies lay eggs from spring until the end of May. These will appear as summer adults from May-September, laying eggs that then develop into the winter adult form. The winter adults appear in late August and shelter for the winter starting the cycle all over again. Adult Question Mark butterflies feed on rotting fruit, tree sap, dung, and carrion only visiting flowers for feeding when absolutely necessary. Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) and Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) rarely use this host plant in North Carolina. It is also a host plant for the Red Spotted Purple butterflies. The seeds are eaten by songbirds and small mammals.
Attracts
Butterflies; Pollinators; Small Mammals; Songbirds
Play value
Shade; Wildlife Cover/Habitat; Wildlife Food Source; Wildlife Larval Host; Wildlife Nesting
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Spring
Fruit type
Drupe; Samara

Uses (ethnobotany)

The heavy wood is used for furniture, crates, and boxes.

Landscape Use
Landscape location
Naturalized Area; Woodland
Landscape theme
Butterfly Garden; Native Garden; Pollinator Garden; Winter Garden
Design feature
Shade Tree; Specimen; Street Tree
Garden tags
#deciduous #small tree #shade tree #small mammals #native tree #deer resistant #fire low flammability #air pollution tolerant #native garden #NC native #Braham Arboretum #fantz #low maintenance #slow growing #flowers early spring #FACU #food source spring #bird friendly #butterfly friendly #flowering tree #piedmont #shade garden #mountains #rounded #fields #well-drained soil #clusters #full sun tolerant #heat tolerant #exfoliating bark #disturbed areas #woody #food source herbage #fall color yellow #spring interest #drupes #rich soils #red-brown #wet soils tolerant #loamy soils tolerant #spring flowers #winter interest #dry soils tolerant #food source hard mast fruit #mammals #rough leaves #black fruits #gray bark #moist soil #Piedmont Mountains FACU #Coastal FACU #fall color bronze #winter flowers #winter garden #small and large mammals #partial shade tolerant #large tree #larval host plant #dark green #green flowers #deciduous tree #small flowers #green leaves #showy flowers #flowers late winter #Audubon #eastern comma butterfly #red-spotted purple butterfly #question mark butterfly #painted lady butterfly #mourning cloak butterflies #coastal plant #showy fruits #fall interest #pollinator plant #wildlife friendly #woodland #HS303
Problems & Resistance
Insect problems
Elm Zigzag Sawfly; Common Insect Pests of Elm in North Carolina
Disease problems
Dutch Elm Disease; Common Diseases of Elm Trees in North Carolina
Resistant to
Deer; Dry Soil; Fire; Wet Soil
Particularly resistant to
Resistant to fire and moderately resistant to damage from deer.
Propagation
Seed
Fire risk
low flammability

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.

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