The leaves of American elm are alternate in arrangement, oval, sharp pointed with double-toothed margins, and have prominent midrib and lateral veins. The base of the leaf is unequal and the surface of the leaf varies from smooth to very hairy. The flower buds are larger and often rounder than the leaf buds. The bark on mature trees is light to dark gray, irregularly ridged with deep furrows. The bark is characterized with alternating dark and light layers when viewed in cross section.
American elm is native to the entire state of Iowa.
Its preferred habitat is moist slopes, bottomlands and along streams and draws. It begins to produce seed at a fairly young age before the individual tree is susceptible or dies from Dutch elm disease. American elm is a component of most woodlands in Iowa, although most of them will never reach sawlog size before dying. Its loss was a serious blow to communities in Iowa both in terms of removal costs and how to replace its many shade tree benefits. Communities for many years expended great efforts on surveys, detection, and sanitation programs, treatments to prevent root-graft transmission, and treatments with systemic fungicides to save or prolong the life the elms.