Washington Square Park Tree of Merit:
English Elm (Ulmus procera)
Story and photos by Georgia Silvera Seamans,
Washington Square Park Eco Projects Director
An urban park tree older than
the park it grows in, the English elm
(Quercus procera) in the northwest corner
of NYC's Washington Square Park is over
300 years old. (The park was designated
in 1827 and formally designed in 1871.)
In the past, English elm were common in fields,
hedgerows, and farmlands in Britain where they
are native, but the species suffered tremendous
losses from Dutch elm disease since the 1960s.
The existence of such a tall (131.2 feet/40 m),
big (67.2 inches/171 cm DBH), and old English
elm in NYC is special indeed. There are three
additional "great" English elms in the city.
I find elms a tricky group to identify, but a
good field mark for English elm is to feel for
rough hairs on the upper surface of the leaves.
Another characteristic of the species is the
notch at the apex of the fruit (samara). Each
samara contains a single seed. English elm trees
flower and fruit before the leaves emerge.
Each flower is inconspicuous but its red color
is somewhat showy en masse. The bark's
ridges and furrows are an unassuming grey.
While the species hasn't undergone a formal
name change, researchers have shown Ulmus
procera to be Ulmus minor var. vulgaris, a clone
of the Roman-era field elm. The Dutch had the
market on U. minor var. vulgaris and during the
Enclosure Acts, the British planted these English
elms to demarcate private property. The island
of Manahatta was a Dutch colony during the
first half of the 17th century, and British rule
of New York began in 1664. Might it be that
the English elm in Washington Square Park was
planted to mark the boundaries of a land deed?
This is the first in a series showcasing the stal-
wart and storied trees of Washington Square Park in
Manhattan. A Washington Square Park Eco Projects
map of the park's trees can be found here.
The park is located on the unceded land of the Lenape peo-
ple, specifically the Munsee language group. We acknowl-
edge this fact to honor the significance of this land to the
Lenape and their ongoing relationship with Lenapehoking.
The ecological and cultural history of the park also includes,
in reverse chronological order, a military parade ground, a
cemetery, African farms, and a forest-marsh ecosystem.
Author Georgia Silvera Seamans with the storied English elm
in the northwest corner of Washington Square Park.
38 CityTREES
