Oval, 6 to 15 cm, glossy and smooth on grown trees, lopsided at the base on a 1 cm stalk.
Native, in southern England · Up to 32 m
Field elm
Ulmus minor · Ulmaceae
Field elm is now rarely seen full-grown, because Dutch elm disease has killed most of Britain's elms. It survives as young stems in hedges, with oval leaves lopsided at the base.
Often mistaken for hornbeam. How to tell them apart →Know it byLeavesOval, 6 to 15 cm, smooth on grown trees, on a 1 cm stalk.
SeedsFlat, papery, oval discs 12 to 15 mm long.TwigsSlender and brown, the buds slim. Some carry corky ridges.
LeavesOval, 6 to 15 cm, smooth on grown trees, on a 1 cm stalk.SeedsFlat, papery, oval discs 12 to 15 mm long.TwigsSlender and brown, the buds slim. Some carry corky ridges.Then check · BarkGreyish brown and rough, with shallow ridges that cross each other in a block pattern on older trunks.
How to identify a field elm
Flat, papery, oval discs 12 to 15 mm long, with the seed set high up, close to the notch at the top.
Slender brown shoots, smooth to the touch, with slim, fuzzy buds along them. Some carry corky ridges.
Learn the field elm in TreelyEvery part through the year, and a short round each day until you know it.Get Treely
Every part, in photographs
olmagon, CC BY 4.0Jose Gutierrez Higa, CC BY 4.0
Wendy Herniman, CC BY 4.0When to look
JFMAMJJASOND
In leaf
Flowers
Seeds
In leaf: April to November · Flowers: February to March · Seeds: April to May
Where you’ll find it
Mostly in hedgerows across lowland England, where it is the common elm. It is most widespread in the Midlands and the south-east. It spreads into some woods, but is seldom a woodland tree.
What it’s mistaken for
- Wych elmBoth are wild elms whose leaves meet the stalk crooked. Leaf. Field elm: smooth and glossy on grown trees. Wych elm: rough as sandpaper, and matt.
- English elmBoth send up new shoots from the roots, and both have the seed close under the notch of a papery disc. Leaf. Field elm: smooth and glossy on grown trees. English elm: rough as sandpaper, even when full-grown.
More elms
In the app
There’s more of the field elm in Treely
- Every part, through the yearLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed in every season
- Its lookalikes, side by sideThe checks that settle it, part by part
- A short round each dayUntil you know the field elm on sight, from any side
- Name it from a photoA leaf, the bark or a flower, and Treely tells you which tree
Free to download.
Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.
Photographs: steve_mcwilliam (CC0), Jose Gutierrez Higa (CC BY 4.0), olmagon (CC BY 4.0), Wendy Herniman (CC BY 4.0), Joss Carr (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.