Selected Plants of Navajo Rangelands
Siberian elm
Naasts’ósí bit’iis
Siberian elm is an introduced, fast-growing tree, from 50 to 70 feet in height. Its leaves are alternate, oblong in shape, 1 to 3 inches long, and usually have serrate (saw-toothed) margins. The flowers are greenish and clustered, with short pedicels. They appear with or before the leaves, from March through April. The bark is a light gray-brown with irregular furrows and is often streaked with stains caused by bacterial wetwood. The fruit, a samara, ripens from April to May, and consists of a dry, compressed nutlet surrounded by a thin, membranous wing.
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