Survivor

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Meet Ulmus Americana – commonly known at the American elm, white elm or water elm.  The tree grows on bottomlands and in ravines and thrives in upland habitats as well.   

The American elm is an extremely hardy and cold-tolerant tree making it ideally suited to parks and city streets.  Planted along entire city blocks the graceful, vase-like shape of spreading branches created a vaulted arch that permitted the passage of tall vehicles on urban streets.  As a child growing up in Milwaukee I recall the magnificent cathedral-like shaded streets lined with elm trees. 

Originating in Asia, Dutch elm disease was introduced to the United States in the 1950s.  Spread by a beetle the fungus devastated the monoculture of concentrated city elms with their grafted root systems.  Even today cities and homeowners grapple with the devastating impact of another Asian invader - the Emerald Ash Borer and the loss of our native ash trees.  As a consequence foresters and arborists recommend the planting of a diverse selection of trees so that any vulnerability to disease, pestilence and weather will mitigate loss to any particular stand or neighborhood.

The American elm pictured above is growing on the south bank of Silver Creek on our property in Door County.  It's one of many remnant populations of American elms that occur naturally.  If you were to talk to an old timer they would tell of you of the times when bottom lands were dominated by elm and how following the ravages of disease the elms were eventually replaced naturally by green, white and black ash.  Today the ash is likely doomed by the relentless spread of the ash borer.  But like the elm they may not be extirpated.   The elm continues to regenerate and when trunk diameters attain eight inches or more they succumb to the fungus.  Yet, they’re never entirely gone.  One can only hope for the same for the ash.

Raising a toast to the survivors...