Ulmus pumila L., Ulmaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  yes

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 9 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Chinese elm, dwarf elm, littleleaf elm, Siberian elm

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Trees, to 25 m tall, d.b.h. to 1 m, deciduous. Bark dark gray, irregularly longitudinally fissured. Branchlets yellowish gray, glabrous or pubescent, unwinged and without a corky layer, with scattered lenticels. Winter buds dark brown to red-brown, ± globose to ovoid; inner bud scale margin usually white ciliate. Petiole 4-10 mm, pubescent; leaf blade elliptic-ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, 2-8 x 1.2-3.5 cm, abaxially pubescent when young but glabrescent or with tufts of hairs in vein axils or sometimes a few hairs on midvein and in forks of secondary veins, adaxially glabrous, base obliquely to symmetrically obtuse to rounded, margin simply or sometimes doubly serrate, apex acute to acuminate; secondary veins 9-16 on each side of midvein. Inflorescences fascicled cymes on second year branchlets, appearing before leaves. Perianth 4-lobed, margin ciliate. Samaras whitish tan, ± orbicular to rarely broadly obovate or elliptical, 1-2 x 1-1.5 cm, glabrous except for pubescence on stigmatic surface; stalk 1-2 mm; perianth persistent. Seed at center of samara or occasionally slightly toward apex but not reaching the apical notch" (Flora of China Online).

Habitat/ecology:  In China (native), "slopes, valleys, plains; 1000-2500 m.  This species is cultivated throughout China" (Flora of China Online).

Propagation:  Wind-dispersed seed.

Native range:  China, Korea, Mongolia, eastern Russia; central Asia (Flora of China Online).

Presence:

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Canada Province of British Columbia	Canada (British Columbia)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
North Korea North Korea	North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Oregon)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Washington)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast and Florida) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)
United States (continental except west coast and Florida) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)

Control:  Control information from the Plant Conservation Alliance's Alien Plant Working Group.

Additional information:
Fact sheet from the U.S. Forest Service (PDF file).

Additional online information about Ulmus pumila is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Ulmus pumila as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Ulmus pumila may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Harvard University. 2007. Flora of China (online resource).

U. S. Government. 2009. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2009. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.