The slippery elm in found throughout Iowa on moist slopes and rich bottomlands. It has an irregular, open crown. The leaves are similar to the American elm , but are larger - 5 to 7 inches long.
Leaves are dark greenabove and paler green beneath, and are rough, feeling raspy or sandpapery.
Thebuds are large, rounded, reddish brown and fuzzy. The twigs are gray and grow upward. They are not bitter when chewed, but fragrant, creating a slimy, mucilage-like substance. From this characteristic the tree gets the name of slippery elm. The inner bark is fragrant and slick and the outer bark is thick, dark grayish brown and broken by shallow fissures into flat ridges.