Leaves are rough to the touch, with hairy upper surface and velvety underside

The basics

Slippery elm is a moderately fast growing, deciduous tree that grows to 70 feet and is native to eastern North America, excluding the extreme south. Also called ‘red elm,’ ‘gray elm,’ or ‘soft elm,’ slippery elm grows best on moist, rich soils of floodplains and lower slopes, but tolerates dry limestone hillsides. The bark is dark grey to reddish brown and deeply furrowed. Slippery elm flowers in late winter-early spring, well before budbreak. The seeds are small oval samaras (winged seeds) that mature in spring and are dispersed by wind. Leaves of slippery elm are 4-8 inches in length, oval-shaped, simple, with doubly serrated margins, parallel veins, and an uneven leaf base. The leaves are hairy above and velvety below and rough to the touch. This feature helps distinguish slippery elm from American elm (U. americana), whose leaves are slightly smaller and less rough.