Mountain elm (birch) (Elm glabra = Elm rough)
Appearance: A deciduous tree shedding its leaves for the winter, high to 40 m, with high crown, often even with many children, in outline inversely ovoid, in free-standing trees very widely spreading.
Trunk visible almost to the center of the crown, but already at a slight height forked into numerous, very thick and massive, often twisted boughs.
Branches initially rise, then they hang arched and partially reach all the way to the ground Only the branches of the upper zone of the crown go radially upwards.
Bark also on older trees strikingly smooth and even, poorly only divided by furrows into lobes, matt grey or dark grey, Shoots quite thick, brown-red, with rigid, short hair.
Leaves inversely ovoid, longitudinally oval or roundish. have about 10-16 cm in length, with long, slender top, looking like planted, and at the base strikingly curved, Unevenly, double ball-ne, with teeth facing forward, Upper leaf surface matte and dark green, very rough to the touch. Lower – Brighter, on larger nerves gently white hairy. Petiole short and strong. Fruit – 1,5-2.0 cm wide, with wide, slightly cut out at the front, membranous wing – already before the development of the leaves are largely developed, Semen is placed in the center of the wing.
Habitat: Mountain elm prefers cool and humid locations and grows willingly on loose, fertile, washed soils,
Occurrence: Widely distributed in forests rich in valuable tree species from Northern Europe to West Asia, found especially in shady forests on mountain slopes up to a height of more or less 1300 m n.p.m, (in the Alps); in the Tatras up to 1135 m n.p.m. In the lowlands in general it is a bit rarer, although, for example, in Poland it is common throughout the area. Flowering period: From February to March.
General thoughts: Mountain elms can be quite old. Specimens counting 400 years and having a trunk diameter of approximately 3 m have been encountered more than once. Mountain elms are more resistant to late blight caused by infectious disease than other domestic species, but also their stands suffered heavy losses.
Flowers appear before leaf development. Even before the foliage fully develops, the characteristic winged peanuts grow and not only look like small leaves, but also undertake photosynthesis. Mature seeds are capable of germination only for a few days.
A related species: Growing in England Ulmus procera has extremely small, for such a growing tree, roundish-oval leaves. Originally, it was performed only in the British Isles,5 Often planted as a street tree, threatened by elm disease. This is the highest, from all elm species.