Practical
Plants

Ulmus rubra

Slippery Elm

a perennial woody deciduous member of the Ulmus genus in the family Ulmaceae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Family
Ulmaceae
Genus
Ulmus
Life cycle
perennial
Foliage
deciduous
Woodiness
woody
Growth rate
moderate
Height
20 m
Spread
15 m
Fertility
Wind
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Wind

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Leaves - raw or cooked. Inner bark - raw or cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups or added to cereal flours when making bread etc[10][4][22][23][6]. It can also be chewed as a thirst quencher[15]. The inner bark has been cooked with fats in order to prevent them becoming rancid[19]. Immature fruit - raw or cooked[7]. The fruit is about 20mm in diameter[11]. A tea-like beverage can be brewed from the inner bark[19].

Plant part
Fruit
Plant part
Inner bark
Plant part
Leaves
Product or use
Tea

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.

Slippery elm bark is a widely used herbal remedy and is considered to be one of the most valuable of remedies in herbal practice[20]. In particular, it is a gentle and effective remedy for irritated states of the mucous membranes of the chest, urinary tubules, stomach and intestines[18]. The inner bark contains large quantities of a sticky slime that can be dried to a powder or made into a liquid[16]. The inner bark is harvested in the spring from the main trunk and from larger branches, it is then dried and powdered for use as required[20]. Ten year old bark is said to be best[20]. Fine grades of the powder are best for internal use, coarse grades are better suited to poultices[17]. The plant is also part of a North American formula called essiac which is a popular treatment for cancer. Its effectiveness has never been reliably proven or disproven since controlled studies have not been carried out. The other herbs included in the formula are Arctium lappa, Rumex acetosella and Rheum palmatum[18]. The inner bark is demulcent, diuretic, emollient, expectorant, nutritive[20][12][5][13]. It has a soothing and healing effect on all parts of the body that it comes into contact with[20] and is used in the treatment of sore throats, indigestion, digestive irritation, stomach ulcers etc[14]. It used to be frequently used as a food that was a nutritive tonic for the old, young and convalescents[14]. It was also applied externally to fresh wounds, burns and scalds[14]. The bark has been used as an antioxidant to prevent fats going rancid[14]. The whole bark, including the outer bark, has been used as a mechanical irritant to abort foetuses[17]. Its use became so widespread that it is now banned in several countries[17].

Product or use
Demulcent
Product or use
Diuretic
Product or use
Emollient
Product or use
Expectorant
Product or use
Nutritive

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

A fibre obtained from the inner bark is used to make a twine[9][19]. The boiled bark has been used for making matting, nets etc[19]. The inner bark has been used in making baskets[19]. The bark has been used as a roofing material[19]. The weathered bark has been used as kindling for starting a fire[19]. Wood - very close-grained, tough, heavy, hard, strong, durable, easy to split. It weighs 43lb per cubic foot and is used for fence posts, window sills, agricultural implements etc[22][24][26][15].

Product or use
Fibre
Product or use
Kindling
Product or use
Roofing
Product or use
Tinder
Product or use
Wood

Ecology and functions

Ecosystem niche
Canopy

Environment

Range
Central and Southern N. America - Maine to Florida, west to Texas and North Dakota.
Habitat
Rich deep soils, often calcareous, on the banks of streams and low rocky hillsides[21][26].
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
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

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[11]. Stored seed does not germinate so well and should be sown in early spring[11], it requires 2 - 3 months stratification according to another report[3]. 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[25]. 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[11].

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Prefers a fertile soil in full sun[8], but can be grown in any soil of at least moderate quality so long as it is well drained[1]. Plants are hardy to about -10°c[17]. A moderately fast-growing tree, living about 200 years in the wild[16], but although perfectly hardy, this species does not usually thrive in Britain[2]. Trees are often harvested in the wild for their edible inner bark, the 'slippery elm' that can be obtained from chemists and health food shops[K]. Trees have been over-exploited in the wild, plus they have also suffered from Dutch elm disease. As a result they are becoming much less common[17]. The slippery elm is very susceptible 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[11]. 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[11].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

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  2. Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981-00-00

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  3. Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987-00-00 ISBN 0942375009

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  4. Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press 1979-00-00 ISBN 0-87857-262-7

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  5. Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.

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  6. Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952-00-00

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  7. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

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  8. Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7

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  9. Bell. L. A. Plant Fibres for Papermaking. Liliaceae Press 1988-00-00

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  10. Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6

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  11. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6

  12. Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983-00-00 ISBN 0-553-23827-2

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  13. Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980-00-00 ISBN 0-449-90589-6

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  14. Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0395467225

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

  15. Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982-00-00 ISBN 0292780206

    ↩1↩2

  16. Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980-00-00 ISBN 0442238622

    ↩1↩2

  17. Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995-00-00 ISBN 0-7513-020-31

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

  18. Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996-00-00 ISBN 9-780751-303148

    ↩1↩2

  19. Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-453-9

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6↩7

  20. Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984-00-00 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

  21. Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950-00-00

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  22. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  23. Harris. B. C. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health 1973-00-00

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  24. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

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  25. McMillan-Browse. P. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-901361-21-6

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  26. Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20278-X

    ↩1↩2

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