Ulmus pumila
Siberian Elm
a perennial woody deciduous member of the Ulmus genus in the family Ulmaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
Uses
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Leaves - raw or cooked[2][5][6]. Used as a potherb[9]. Inner bark - cooked. It can be dried and made into noodles[2][5][6]. The dried inner bark can also be ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups or added to cereal flours when making bread etc. Fruit - raw or cooked[2][5]. Used when immature, it can be made into a sauce and a wine[6]. The fruit is about 10mm in diameter[8].
- Plant part
- Fruit
- Plant part
- Inner bark
- Plant part
- Leaves
Medicinal uses
Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
The leaves are diuretic and febrifuge[9]. They are used as a pot herb and are then said to be antibilious, antidote and lithontripic[9]. The stem bark is demulcent, diuretic, febrifuge and lenitive[9]. It is mixed with oil and vinegar then used as a poultice on abscesses, mastitis and swellings[9].
- Product or use
- Antibilious
- Product or use
- Antidote
- Product or use
- Demulcent
- Product or use
- Diuretic
- Product or use
- Febrifuge
- Product or use
- Lenitive
- Product or use
- Lithontripic
- Product or use
- Poultice
Material uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
A coarse cloth is made from the inner bark[4]. A fairly wind resistant tree, it can be grown as part of a shelterbelt planting[8]. Wood - hard, heavy, tough, difficult to split. Used for agricultural implements, boat making etc[4].
- Product or use
- Fibre
- Product or use
- Wood
Ecology and functions
- Ecosystem niche
- Canopy, Secondary canopy
Environment
- Range
- E. Asia - China, E. Siberia, Turkestan.
- Habitat
- Dry sandy or stony soils, pebbles of river valleys, slopes and occasionally on rocks[10].
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 3+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerances
- high wind, drought
- Wind
- Yes
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- tolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - if sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe, it usually germinates within a few days[8]. Stored seed does not germinate so well and should be sown in early spring[8]. The seed can also be harvested 'green' (when it has fully developed but before it dries on the tree) and sown immediately in a cold frame. It should germinate very quickly and will produce a larger plant by the end of the growing season[11]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Plants should not be allowed to grow for more than two years in a nursery bed since they form a tap root and will then move badly. Layering of suckers or coppiced shoots[8].
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Prefers a fertile soil in full sun[7], but is easily grown in any soil of at least moderate quality so long as it is well drained[1]. Succeeds in a hot dry position[8]. Established plants are drought resistant[3][8]. Fairly wind-tolerant[8]. This species, or at least some of its cultivars[8], is resistant to 'Dutch elm disease', a disease that has destroyed the greater part of all the elm trees growing in Britain. The disease is spread by means of beetles. There is no effective cure (1992) for the problem, but most E. Asian, though not Himalayan, species are resistant (though not immune) to the disease so the potential exists to use these resistant species to develop new resistant hybrids with the native species[8]. The various species of this genus hybridize freely with each other and pollen is easily saved, so even those species with different flowering times can be hybridized[8].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00
Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981-00-00
Vines. R. A. Trees of Central Texas. University of Texas Press 1987-00-00 ISBN 0-292-78958-3
Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169
Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968-00-00
McMillan-Browse. P. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-901361-21-6