Cut-leaf elm, also called Manchurian elm, is a northeast Asian tree whose leaves often split at the tip into 3 to 7 pointed lobes. It is not found wild in the US and is rarely planted here, growing mainly in a few arboretums.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A deciduous tree that can reach about 80–90 ft (25–27 m) in the wild, but cultivated trees in the West have stayed much smaller so far.
- Leaves
- Leaves are 3–7 in (7–18 cm) long, broad toward a squared-off tip with 1 to 3 pointed lobes on each side, double-toothed, and rough with hairs. The lobed leaves form mostly on vigorous shoots.
- Flowers
- Small, petal-less flowers appear in clusters in April before the leaves and are wind-pollinated.
- Fruit
- Flat, rounded winged seeds () about 0.6–0.8 in (1.5–2 cm) long, with the seed near the center, ripening around May.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Humid mountain ravines
- Moist forests
- Range
- Native to Japan, Korea, northern China, eastern Siberia, and Sakhalin, usually at about 2,300–7,200 ft (700–2,200 m), and lower in the far north such as Hokkaido.
- Preferred conditions
- Needs sheltered, humid sites; trees planted in exposed spots tend to struggle.
Growing it
- Care
- Hardy to about USDA zones 4–5. First brought to the Arnold Arboretum in Massachusetts in 1905, it is hard to propagate from cuttings and is still uncommon; the Morton Arboretum in Illinois also grows it.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
- Threats
- It has only modest resistance to Dutch elm disease, and in trials in the US and Italy it was badly damaged by elm leaf beetle; it is also very susceptible to elm leafminer.
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- The Ainu people of northern Japan traditionally wove cloth from the inner bark of this tree.
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