Identity
Category :
Arbre remarquable
Latin name :
Ulmus americana
French name :
Orme d’Amérique
Dutch name :
Amerikaanse iep
English name :
American elm
Family :
Ulmaceae
Height :
15 m
Targeted height :
This species can grow up to 35 m
Diameter of the crown :
5 m
Trunk circumference :
169 cm
Expected circumference :
300 cm
Expected longevity :
Can live for 300 years in Belgium, 400–500 years in America
Origin / Indigenous
North America (central and eastern USA)
Favorite soil :
Deep, fresh, fertile
Favorite climate
Cool to warm temperate
Usefulness and services of the tree :
Enhances the landscape :
+++
Enhances the biodiversity :
++
Provide oxygen :
++
Purify the air :
++
Filter the water :
Prevents flooding :
Stores carbon :
+
Softens the climate :
++
Limits soil erosion :
Does good, heals :
+++
Illustrated botany © Wikimedia Commons
Features and characters of the individual
These two are the last two American elm trees in Brussels. In this concrete area, they form a small bouquet of harmonious greenery. Their crowns join, but spread out wide. However, if we look at these trees from Rue des Augustins, their silhouette looks lopsided. Everything is a little distorted in these elms, starting with the base of their leaf, which is completely asymmetrical. There is also something else that’s not quite right: it looks like they are only growing on one side. And indeed, these two elms appear to have lost a piece of the grove they form. If you pass by, admire them while they are still there!
