Southern Elm (Southern Celts)
Appearance: Deciduous tree shedding leaves in winter, with a height of approximately up to 20-25 meters. Round-vaulted crown, often very sprawling or hanging slightly to one side.
Bark also on older trees smooth and even, almost like a beech, olowianoszara or pale brownnawa, without a prominent network of furrows. Brownish shoots, densely pubescent, but balding over time.
Leaves long 5-15 cm, lanceolate-oblong or longitudinal, with a very long, slender apex and sharply serrated edge – forward-facing teeth. Leaf base rounded and almost full edge, in total a bit wavy. Leaves on top slightly, but roughly hairy, matte and dark green, and from the bottom brighter and only gently, whitish pubescent, especially along the nerve lines. A good distinguishing feature for the whole genus is always the trinervous leaf base (= fork-branched median rib and two lowest nerves), Petiole has 1-1,5 cm in length, The tops of the leaf are often twisted, especially immediately after unfolding.
Inconspicuous flowers, yellow-green.
Fruit (pestkowce) occur singly on long peduncles, leaves growing from the groin. They are spherical-oblong, with a thickness of approx 1 cm, in the mature state brown-red to black, edible.
Occurrence: In Southwest Asia and the Mediterranean, it is widespread mostly as an ornamental tree. in hedges, thickets or loose undergrowths. Especially common in Italy and France, increasingly also in Central Europe, in areas with mild winters – as an ornamental and street tree.
Flowering period: March to April.
General thoughts: The affiliation of the elm to the family of elm can be recognized – regardless of the details of the structure of the flower – after leaf root, obliquely educated, which gives the lamina a largely asymmetrical appearance. Small drupes of this tree have a fairly pleasant taste. Nearby, where bundles are found more often, they are eagerly collected. In South Tyrol they are called "Zurgeln"” and uses occasionally to prepare various sweet dishes. Growing for me fruits, however, pays off, because compared to others, this species is not very fertile and capricious in fruiting.
The genus Celtis had a much greater range in Europe in the Tertiary., than at present. Prove lego finds of fossil leaves from clay layers, encountered in lignite mining, These leaves are mostly perfectly preserved.
Fossil finds of elm in Central Europe also prove, that at the end of the Tertiary, the climate was much milder than today. Only the onset of the Ice Age brought significant deterioration and caused the extinction of many species.