Stats

Lifespan

Up to 300 yrs

Size

Huge

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Temperate deciduous forest

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Armor

Status

Endangered

About

A majestic deciduous tree native to eastern North America, prized for its iconic vase-shaped canopy of arching branches. Once the most widely planted street tree in the U.S., populations were devastated by Dutch elm disease beginning in the 1930s.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →
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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Rosales

Family

Ulmaceae

Genus

Ulmus

Species

Ulmus americana