Tree · Ulmaceae
American elm
Ulmus americana
American elm is recorded as native to 39 states and territories in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 1,736 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Key facts · USDA PLANTS
American elm at a glance
- Native in
- 1,736 counties, across 39 states and territories
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 2b PLANTS minimum temperature −46°F
- Mature height
- 120 ft PLANTS mature height
- Light and water
- Sun to part shade High water use
Estimated cold hardiness: zone 2b. PLANTS gives a minimum temperature of −46°F; zone 2b winters bottom out at −45°F, the coldest half-zone that stays within that limit.
American elm is recorded as native to 39 states and territories in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 1,736 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Counties where it is native
The 15 counties with the most ZIP codes among the 1,736 where it is listed.
Native counties by state
- Alabama 50 counties
- Arkansas 75 counties
- Connecticut statewide record
- Delaware 2 counties
- District of Columbia 1 county
- Florida 45 counties
- Georgia 26 counties
- Illinois 102 counties
- Indiana 72 counties
- Iowa 11 counties
- Kansas 93 counties
- Kentucky 112 counties
- Louisiana 59 counties
- Maine 14 counties
- Massachusetts 14 counties
- Michigan 69 counties
- Minnesota 65 counties
- Mississippi 48 counties
- Missouri 113 counties
- Montana 13 counties
- Nebraska 32 counties
- New Hampshire 9 counties
- New Jersey 18 counties
- New York 59 counties
- North Carolina 49 counties
- North Dakota 37 counties
- Ohio 88 counties
- Oklahoma 73 counties
- Pennsylvania 63 counties
- Rhode Island 5 counties
- South Carolina 19 counties
- South Dakota 18 counties
- Tennessee 47 counties
- Texas 38 counties
- Vermont 14 counties
- Virginia 81 counties
- West Virginia 36 counties
- Wisconsin 65 counties
- Wyoming 1 county
Growing traits
Values from the PLANTS characteristics record. “Not recorded” means PLANTS has no value; nothing here is estimated except the zone.
Growth
- Growth habit
- Tree
- Duration
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 120 ft
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth form
- Single Stem
- Shape
- Erect
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Active growth period
- Spring and Summer
Light and water
- Shade tolerance
- Intermediate (sun to part shade)
- Moisture use
- High water use
- Drought tolerance
- Medium
- Tolerance of waterlogged soil
- Low
- Precipitation range
- 15 to 70 in per year
Soil
- Soil textures
- Coarse, medium and fine
- pH range
- 5 to 8
- Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance
- Medium
- Salinity tolerance
- Low
- Fertility requirement
- Medium
- Minimum root depth
- 42 in
Climate
- Minimum temperature
- −46°F
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 2b and warmer
- Minimum frost-free days
- 80
- Fire tolerance
- Low
Flowers, leaves and fruit
- Flower color
- Green
- Showy flowers
- No
- Bloom period
- Early Spring
- Foliage color
- Green
- Showy in fall
- Yes
- Keeps leaves
- No
- Fruit color
- Brown
Other
- Toxicity
- None
- Nitrogen fixation
- None
- Nursery availability
- Routinely Available
- Family
- Ulmaceae
- PLANTS symbol
- ULAM
Source & data date
- Source
- USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: county distribution records, native status and plant characteristics. CC0 (public domain dedication, per the data.gov catalog record).
- Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP): native or introduced status by state. CC BY 3.0.
- USGS US-RIIS (ver. 2.0): species listed as introduced are excluded. CC0.
- Citation
- USDA, NRCS. 2026. The PLANTS Database (https://plants.usda.gov, 11/04/2026). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA.
- Govaerts R. (ed.) (2026). WCVP: World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Data file dated 2026-06-04, http://sftp.kew.org/pub/data-repositories/WCVP/ (retrieved 2026-11-04). Paper: Govaerts R. et al. (2021) The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. Scientific Data 8, 215.
- Data date
- Retrieved from PLANTS on November 4, 2026; WCVP data file dated June 4, 2026.
- Scope
- Ulmus americana (PLANTS symbol ULAM).
- Method
- A species is listed when it is recorded as native to the state in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in the county by USDA PLANTS. Species PLANTS labels both native and introduced are listed separately. Full method · All sources