Key Identification Features
- As suggested by both its common and scientific names, winged elm is most easily identified by the very broad, thin pair of corky wings that develop along its branchlets after a couple of years.
- Its hard timber is considered no more distinctive than that of other American elms, and its small common tree size limits its usefulness.
- Its extensive shallow root system eventually forms distinctive high buttresses around the trunk base.
- Its apetalous, wind-pollinated flowers are distinctively cream-coloured; they appear before leaves in early spring in clusters of 15–30, and measure 3–4 mm across.
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