Cedar Elm

The Cedar Elm, or Texas Elm, is the most common and widespread elm in Texas. Not that you could've possibly guessed at that considering it's name.
I know I talked about the American Elm before and there are many similarities like the bark, leaf shape, and tree form. There are differences, too, though. The biggest (or maybe I should say "smallest") difference is the leaf size. Cedar elm leaves vary in size from .5 - 2.5 inches, whereas American elm's are 4 - 6 inches long.
I've seen a whole tree covered in leaves the size of my pinky-nail.
They're alternate, simple, serrated leaves with even veining and very short stems. The leaves may be glossy-looking in Spring, but the rest of the time they have a very rough feeling to them.
The bark is grey-brown with flakey vertical ridges, and occasionally smaller branches will have cork-like wings coming from the sides. These trees can grow up to 75 feet, but 30-40 is common.
The seeds are up to .5 inches and are called "winged samara," but they're just the little green ravioli. It flowers and grows seeds in the Fall. The flowers are fairly unobtrusive as clusters of short and hairy stems.
As it's a flourishing native plant it should be known that Cedar elms are tolerant of crazy high temperatures, clay soil, and low water. It's a easy ID and a good tree!


--I've gotten two different reports on Dutch Elm Disease, one said that Ceder elm is resistant and the other said American elm is the the resistant one. Since I've seen more writing that Cedar Elms are resistant to DED, I guess I should go with that one.

--Lacebark elm also have slightly smaller leaves, but the bark is a dead give-away. The bark has a lacy, patchy look of patterned brown and red/yellow.