Ulmus mexicana

Ulmus mexicana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Ulmaceae
Genus:	Ulmus
Species:	U. mexicana
Binomial name
Ulmus mexicana (Liebm.) Planch.
Synonyms
Chaetoptelea mexicana Liebm.

Chaetoptelea mexicana Liebm.

Ulmus mexicana (Liebm.) Planch., the Mexican elm, is a large tree endemic to Mexico and Central America. It is most commonly found in cloud forest and the higher elevations (800–2200 m) of tropical rain forest with precipitation levels of 2–4 m per annum, ranging from San Luis Potosi south to Chiapas in Mexico, and from Guatemala to Panama beyond. Natural regeneration is poor. The tree was first described botanically in 1873.

Ulmus mexicana is probably the tallest of all the elm species, occasionally reaching a height of 84 m (273 feet), and a d.b.h. of 2.5 m (8 feet), certainly one of the tallest trees in Mexico. The tree is also distinguished by its deeply fluted grey trunk, supporting a deep crown, its dense foliage casting a heavy shadow. The leaves vary widely in size from 3–16 cm in length by 2–7 cm breadth, elliptic to obovate, surface glossy, but dull on the underside, with petioles 5–10 mm long. The tree has distinctive racemose inflorescences up to 7 cm in length comprising nine clusters of 40 perfect apetalous wind-pollinated flowers which emerge between December and February. The small samarae, 9.0 × 2.3 mm, are covered with long straight hairs, and are shed in March [2].

The tree is not known to be hardy in Europe; a specimen planted at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden in England in 1978 died for reasons unknown. One tree is known to exist in Australia (see Accessions). There are no known cultivars of this taxon, nor is it known to be in commerce.

...
Wikipedia