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| ## chinese elm {#chinese-elm .Title-Header}                           |
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| *Ulmus parvifolia* Jacq.                                              |
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| Plant Symbol = ULPA                                                   |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="3.4375in" height="2.2916666666666665in"}

Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution, Department of Botany

**Alternative Names**

Drake elm, lacebark elm

**Uses**

*Horticulture*: Most of the elms make great shade and avenue trees, and
Chinese elm is one of the best. It has been found to be invasive in some
situations in Wisconsin. This is a good replacement for American elm
which is apparently going extinct due to Dutch elm disease. Foliage in
autumn often turns shades of red and purple. With its multi-colored
exfoliating bark, Chinese elm is especially attractive in winter. There
are some small cultivars that are used for bonsai. \'Hokkaido\' has tiny
leaves and gets only about 1 ft (0.3 m) tall. It is hardy enough to use
in harsh planting situations such like parking lots, and in small
planters along streets and in plazas or patios.

Fairly resistant to maritime exposure, it can be grown in a shelter
belt. Chinese elm is a tough tree, tolerant of urban air and soils, and
resistant to Dutch elm disease. Fast growing and adaptable, this is a
good choice when you want a shade tree for a small landscape.
Additionally, hybridization between the Chinese and American elms has
led to cultivars that are resistant to the disease, but they do not have
the characteristic shape of the American elms.

Although Chinese elm is an excellent tree, the variability of seedling
stock can be seen in many streetscapes. Seed-grown trees can be
misshapen, and will not necessarily fulfill the role chosen for them.
Trees budded onto understocks will give a more uniform tree, and can be
managed more efficiently. Cutting-grown trees maintain clonal stability,
but can be slow to establish because of a less-vigorous root system.

Chinese elm can develop more than one dominant leader when young, making
it difficult to manage in the streetscape. Purchase only trees with a
single leader to prevent high maintenance costs later in the landscape

*Ethnobotanic*:

Raw or cooked immature fruits are used just after they are formed
(Tanaka 1976). It has an aromatic, unusual flavor, leaving the mouth
feeling fresh and the breath smelling pleasant. It contains about 34.4%
protein, 28.2% fat, 17% carbohydrate, 5% ash.\
\
Cooking the inner bark produces a mucilaginous texture (Tanaka 1976;
Kunkel 1984). No more details are given but inner bark is often dried,
ground into a powder and then used as a thickening in soups etc or mixed
with cereals when making bread.

The leaves are purported to be an antidote and lithontripic. The stem
bark is a demulcent, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, hypnotic and
lithontripic. The flowers are used in the treatment of fevers and
neuritis (Duke & Ayensu 1985).

#### Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status, such as, noxious status, and
wetland indicator values.

**Description**

The Chinese elm is native to China, Korea, and Japan. It is a small to
medium-sized deciduous (rarely semi-evergreen) tree growing to 10-18 m
tall with a slender trunk and crown. The leaves are small, 2-5 cm long
and 1-3 cm broad. The flowers are produced in early autumn, small and
inconspicuous, with the seed maturing rapidly and dispersing by late
autumn. The fruit are round samaras appearing in the fall. The growth
rate of Chinese elm can be over 3 feet per year reaching 60 to 80 feet
tall. It has beautiful exfoliating bark which is cinnamon in color. It
grows in a vase shape and is a good city tree resistant to Dutch Elm
disease. It is drought tolerant, but will tolerate moist sites. It can
be messy with lots of fruit falling and causing seedling growth. When
receiving a shipment, make sure it is not *Ulmus pumila* (which has a
black, rounded bud).

Trees retain their leaves until early in the new year and in areas with
mild winters will often retain them until new leaves are formed in the
spring.\
\
This tree likes full sun to partial shade and grows in USDA Hardiness
Zones 5-9.

**Establishment**

This species is easily grown in any soil of at least moderate quality so
long as it is well drained. The various species of elm hybridize freely.
The pollen stores well and can be kept for use with species that flower
at different times (Huxley 1992).\
\
*Propagation by seed.* Sow seed outside in containers as soon as they
ripen in fall. Cultivars are sometimes grafted onto seedlings. Greenwood
tip cuttings may be rooted under glass with bottom heat.

If sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe, it usually germinates
within a few days (Huxley 1992). Stored seed does not germinate so well
and should be sown in early spring. One to two months of stratification
can improve germination rates. The seed can also be harvested \'green\'
(when it has fully developed but before it dries on the tree) and sown
immediately in a cold frame. It should germinate very quickly and will
produce a larger plant by the end of the growing season (McMillan-Browse
1985). When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out
into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first
winter. Plant them out into permanent positions in late spring or early
summer, after the last expected frosts. Plants should not be allowed to
grow for more than two years in a nursery bed, since they form a tap
root and will then be difficult to move. Layering can be done on suckers
or coppiced shoots (Huxley 1992).

**Management**

It is easily grown in any soil of at least moderate quality so long as
it is well drained (Bean 1981). Fairly tolerant of maritime exposure, it
succeeds outdoors in a very exposed position. It is resistant to Dutch
elm disease, which is spread by a beetle. There is no effective cure for
the problem, but most east Asian, though not Himalayan, species are
resistant (though not immune) to the disease so the potential exists to
use these resistant species to develop new resistant hybrids with the
native species. The various species hybridize freely, the pollen stores
well and can be kept for use with species that flower at different times
(Huxley 1992). Trees retain their leaves until early in the new year
(Bean 1981) and in areas with mild winters will often retain them until
new leaves are formed in the spring (Brickell 1990). A good companion
for grapes (Philbrick & Gregg 1979).

# 

# Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Many cultivars of this species have been released such as \'Drake\',
\'Frosty\', and \'True Green\'. 'Pumila' is a minute bush for rock
gardens.

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

**References**

Bean. W.J. & D.L. Clarke. 1991. *Trees and shrubs hardy in the British
Isles.* John Murray, London. 864p.

Brickell. C. 1990. *The RHS gardener\'s encyclopedia of plants and
flowers.* Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd, New York.

Chittendon, F. 1956. *RHS dictionary of plants plus supplement.* Oxford
University Press, U.K.

Duke. J. A. & E.S. Ayensu. 1985. *Medicinal plants of China.* Reference
Publications, Inc., Algonac, Michigan.

Flora of China Project 2007. *Flora of China*. Accessed: 070212. Harvard
University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
\<http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/index.html\>

Gregg, R.B. 1966. *Companion plants.* Devin-Adair Co., Greenwich,
Connecticut.

Huxley. A. 1992. *The new RHS dictionary of gardening.* MacMillan Press,
U.K.

Kunkel. G. 1984. *Plants for human consumption.* Koeltz Scientific
Books, Koenigstein, Germany.

McMillan-Browse. P. 1985. *Hardy woody plants from seed.* Grower Books,
London.

Philbrick, H.L.P. 1976. *Companion plants and how to use them*.
Shambhala Publications, Boston. 113p.

Plants for a Future 2006. *Plants for a future*. (Accessed: 060902)
England, U.K.

Tanaka. T. 1976. *Tanaka\'s cyclopaedia of edible plants of the world.*
Keigaku Publishing Co., Tokyo.

USDA NRCS. 2007. *The PLANTS database*. Acessed: 070212. National Plant
Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

#### Prepared By

##### *Lincoln M. Moore* and *Kellie King*, formerly USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

#### 

#### Species Coordinator

##### *Lincoln Moore*, formerly USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

##### Edited: 06sep00 lmm; 070209jsp {#edited-06sep00-lmm-070209jsp .Header-4}

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
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large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
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*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
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