Winged elm (Ulmus alata): what the agencies record

This page reports what US federal publications say about one tree. It does not identify trees from descriptions or photos and does not say what should be done with any tree. The family overview, tree species in the agency records, explains the sources and holds the comparison table.

At a glance

Item	What the source records
Scientific name	Ulmus alata Michx. in USDA PLANTS, elm family
Other names	Cork elm and wahoo (Silvics)
Native status, USDA PLANTS	Native in the lower 48 states
Size, Silvics	Usually 12 to 15 m (40 to 50 ft) tall, occasionally 24 to 30 m (80 to 100 ft), and rarely more than 61 cm (24 in) in diameter
Form, Silvics	A short bole with branches ascending into a fairly open, round-topped crown, a lacy or somewhat drooping habit, and corky, persistent wings or projections often found on the branches
Growth, Silvics	Grows rapidly in the open; under forest conditions the growth rate is usually considered poor relative to associates, with diameter growth in one natural stand averaging 50 to 64 mm (2.0 to 2.5 in) over a 10-year span
Green weight of the wood, NRS-38	53 lb per cubic foot, without bark

Native range and sites

The Silvics of North America handbook (Agriculture Handbook 654, volume 2, 1990) calls winged elm a very hardy small to medium-sized tree of a wide range of habitats across much of the southern Midwest and Southeastern United States. It says the range extends from southern Virginia west to Kentucky, southern Indiana and Illinois, and central Missouri; south to central Oklahoma and southeastern Texas; and east to central Florida, with local occurrence in Maryland. It grows on a great variety of soils, fairly well on dry as well as rich, moist ones, and is generally associated with intermittent streams and moist lower slopes. The handbook classifies it as tolerant of flooding.

On fertile soils with adequate moisture and drainage the handbook says winged elm grows well and is a useful component of several forest types, while on poor dry sites it is stunted and gnarled and can be an undesirable invader of grazing land. It generally grows only as scattered trees mixed with other hardwoods and is occasionally planted in southern landscapes.

Flowers and seed

Silvics says the perfect flowers are borne on threadlike stalks in short, few-flowered drooping clusters before the leaves appear, in March and April. The fruit is a reddish or greenish winged seed 6 to 8 mm (0.25 to 0.33 in) long that ripens in April, and the handbook says the reddish seeds give the tree a reddish appearance when fruiting. Seeds are spread by wind and water and eaten by birds and small animals. The handbook calls winged elm a light-demanding invader of forest openings, old fields and rangelands that sprouts prolifically and is difficult to kill with herbicides.

Wood

Silvics says that for commercial purposes the wood of winged elm is classed as hard elm or rock elm, used mainly for furniture, hardwood dimension and flooring, boxes and crates, and that elm's resistance to splitting has made it a choice wood for hockey sticks. The Wood Handbook (FPL-GTR-282, 2021) lists winged elm with the hard elms, which it says are somewhat heavier than the soft elms. Table 5-3b has no winged elm row, so no strength figures are given here. The green weight of the wood without bark is in the NRS-38 table, shown in the glance table above and used in the log weight calculator. The closest figures for a hard elm are on the rock elm page.

Diseases, insects and damage the handbook names

Silvics (1990) says a large variety of insects and diseases are reported for winged elm, but that this is not because the species is more susceptible than other native hardwoods. The handbook gives the primary reason as susceptibility to the two elm diseases below, which prompted a large amount of research on all elm insects and diseases.

Dutch elm disease. Caused by Ceratocystis ulmi and called most prevalent in the northern part of winged elm's range; the handbook says it had not been found in Louisiana and Florida as of 1976. See Dutch elm disease.
Elm phloem necrosis. Caused by a mycoplasma-like organism and distributed through much of the north and central range by 1975. The handbook says both diseases spread into the Southeastern States from the north and that whether warmer climate or other factors will stop the epidemics remained uncertain. See elm yellows.
Competition and grazing. On rangeland the handbook says the species survives grazing as bushes and sprouts.

The guide on reporting a pest in the United States and the Canada reporting page give the offices that take sightings of regulated pests. Who may apply pesticides is in pesticide licences by country.