Scientific Name
Ulmus procera
Trade Name
English elm
Family Name
Common Names
Elm, English elm, Nave elm, Red elm, Vanlig alm
Regions of Distribution
Western Europe
Countries of Distribution [VIEW MAP]
United Kingdom
Common Uses
Bedroom suites, Bent Parts, Boat building, Cabinetmaking, Canoes, Caskets, Chairs, Decorative veneer, Dining-room furniture, Docks, Dockwork, Domestic flooring, Drawer sides, Figured veneer, Fine furniture, Flooring, Furniture , Harbor work, Kitchen cabinets, Lifeboats, Living-room suites, Marine construction, Office furniture, Parquet flooring, Radio – stereo – TV cabinets, Shipbuilding, Sub-flooring, Turnery, Utility furniture, Veneer, Wharf construction
Environmental Profile
| Status has not been officially assessed |
Difficult to locate
Distribution Overview
English elm is native to England and western Europe. It is, however, widely cultivated, escaping in the northeastern and Pacific states of the United States. It grows in thickets, along roadsides and forest borders, and is often found in moist soils.
Heartwood Color
| Brown | ||||||||||||
| Yellow | ||||||||||||
| Red | ||||||||||||
| Purple | ||||||||||||
| Orange | ||||||||||||
| Golden brown with a reddish cast |
Dull in color, and free of knotS/The heartwood is described as dull reddish-brown in color, and is often free of knots
Sapwood Color
| White | ||||||||||||
| Yellow | ||||||||||||
| Brown | ||||||||||||
| Red | ||||||||||||
| Clearly differentiated from the heartwood |
Grain
| Figure | ||||||||||||
| Crossed | ||||||||||||
| Irregular |
| Irregular | ||||||||||||
| Crossed |
Attractive figure
Texture
| Fine | ||||||||||||
| Coarse |
Natural Durability
| Durable | ||||||||||||
| Perishable | ||||||||||||
| Non-durable | ||||||||||||
| Moderately durable | ||||||||||||
| Non-resistant to termites | ||||||||||||
| Susceptible to insect attack | ||||||||||||
| Very little natural resistance | ||||||||||||
| Susceptible to attack by fungi and termites |
Odor
| No specific smell or taste |
Kiln Schedules
| Schedule A: United Kingdom |
Drying Defects
| Expect splits | ||||||||||||
| Distortion (twist/warp) is likely | ||||||||||||
| Collapse | ||||||||||||
| Checking |
Ease of Drying
| Slowly | ||||||||||||
| Highly prone to degrade | ||||||||||||
| Dries at a fairly rapid rate |
Kiln Drying Rate
| Naturally dries slowly |
Tree Size
| Tree height is 20-30 m | ||||||||||||
| Sapwood width is 10-15 cm | ||||||||||||
| Sapwood width is 5-10 cm | ||||||||||||
| Sapwood width is 0-5 cm | ||||||||||||
| Tree height is 30-40 m |
Comments
Often found in hedgerows. Center is likely unsound
Blunting Effect
| High to severe | ||||||||||||
| Medium effect |
Boring
| Fairly easy to very easy | ||||||||||||
| Difficult |
Carving
| Gluing is often difficult |
Cutting Resistance
| Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult to saw | ||||||||||||
| Tends to bind on saws | ||||||||||||
| Difficult to saw |
Gluing
| Good properties |
Mortising
| Difficult to mortise |
Moulding
| Requires very sharp cutting edges |
Wood tends to pick-up
Movement in Service
| Moderate dimensional stability after seasoning | ||||||||||||
| Medium |
Nailing
| Satisfactory nailing properties | ||||||||||||
| Resists splitting |
Planing
| Very Good to Excellent Results | ||||||||||||
| Fair to Good Results | ||||||||||||
| Woolly | ||||||||||||
| Irregular grain interferes | ||||||||||||
| Difficult to plane |
Resistance to Impregnation
| Sapwood is permeable | ||||||||||||
| Heartwood is moderately resistant |
Response to Hand Tools
| Easy to Work | ||||||||||||
| Fairly Difficult to Difficult to Work | ||||||||||||
| Cutting edges should be kept sharp to prevent torn rays |
Routing & Recessing
| Very sharp cutting edges are required to produce a smooth surface |
Screwing
| Reported to screw without splitting |
Turning
| Requires very sharp cutting edges | ||||||||||||
| Difficult to turn |
Steam Bending
| Poor |
Polishing
| Fair to Good Results | ||||||||||||
| High finish |
Staining
| Stains well |
Strength Properties
| Hardness = medium | ||||||||||||
| Crushing strength = low |
Density is high
Numerical Data
| Item | Green | Dry | English |
| Bending Strength | 5302 | 8989 | psi |
| Density | 31 | lbs/ft3 | |
| Hardness | 804 | lbs | |
| Impact Strength | 25 | 23 | inches |
| Maximum Crushing Strength | 2264 | 4545 | psi |
| Shearing Strength | 1715 | psi | |
| Stiffness | 779 | 1049 | 1000 psi |
| Work to Maximum Load | 9 | 10 | inch-lbs/in3 |
| Specific Gravity | 0.54 | ||
| Weight | 37 | 32 | lbs/ft3 |
| Radial Shrinkage | 4 | % | |
| Tangential Shrinkage | 6 | % | |
| Item | Green | Dry | Metric |
| Bending Strength | 372 | 632 | kg/cm2 |
| Density | 496 | kg/m3 | |
| Hardness | 364 | kg | |
| Impact Strength | 63 | 58 | cm |
| Maximum Crushing Strength | 159 | 319 | kg/cm2 |
| Shearing Strength | 120 | kg/cm2 | |
| Stiffness | 54 | 73 | 1000 kg/cm2 |
| Work to Maximum Load | 0.63 | 0.70 | cm-kg/cm3 |
| Specific Gravity | 0.54 | ||
| Weight | 592 | 512 | kg/m3 |
| Radial Shrinkage | 4 | % |
References
HMSO. 1985. Broadleaves. Forestry Commission Booklet No. 20. Text by H.E. Edlin. Revised by A.F. Mitchell. Forestry Commission, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London.
HMSO, 1981. Handbook of Hardwoods, 2nd Edition. Revised by R.H. Farmer. Department of the Environment, Building Research Establishment, Princes Risborough Laboratory, Princes Risborough, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
Laidlaw, W.B.R. 1960. Guide to British Hardwoods. Published by Leonard Hill [Books] Limited, 9 Eden Street, N.W.1, London.
Lavers, G.M. 1966. The Strength Properties of Timbers. Forest Products Research Bulletin, No. 50. Ministry of Technology, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London.
Lincoln, W.A. World Woods in Color. Linden Publishing Co. Inc, Fresno, California.
Little, E.L. 1980. The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Trees – Western Region. Published by Arthur A. Knopf, New York.
Patterson, D. 1988. Commercial Timbers of the World. Fifth Edition. Gower Technical Press, Aldershot, UK. ix + 339 pp.