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  Elm in beijing.JPG  Ulmus pumila leaves.jpg  Ulmus pumila DSCF5395.JPG  Ulmus pumila1.jpg

NAME: Siberian Elm

SPECIES / FAMILY:  Ulmus Pumila / Ulmaceae

OTHER COMMON NAME(S): 

CONDITIONS: sun-partial shade
 

PARTS:

EDIBLE cid:image001.jpg@01D3EC3E.A305A520

TASTE

RAW/COOK

SEASON

All

  

 

 

 

Shoots

 

 

 

 

Leaves

young

  

RAW/COOK

Spring

Stalk/Stem

 

 

 

 

Buds

        

Flowers

 

 

 

 

Fruits

 

 

 

 

Pods/Samarus

green

 

RAW/COOK

Spring

Seeds

 

 

 

 

Nuts

 

 

 

 

Roots

 

 

 

 

Bark

inner

 

COOK

all

 

PORTION: small

 

COMMENT:  As Sam Thayer puts it in The Forager’s Harvest (2006):  “Elm samaras are simply gourmet.”(5) And samaras look like little fried eggs.(4)

Samarus/Pod; Inner bark; Leaves - raw or cooked. Used as a potherb. Inner bark - cooked. It can be dried and made into noodles. The dried inner bark can also be ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups or added to cereal flours when making bread etc. Green Fruit/Seedpod - raw or cooked. Seed used when immature, it can be made into a sauce and a wine.(1) The Siberian Elm has rough bark and fruits in the spring whereas the Chinese Elm has smooth bark and fruits in the fall.(2)

 

CAUTION:

 

NUTRITION/MEDICINAL:  Antibilious;  Antidote;  Demulcent;  Diuretic;  Febrifuge;  Lenitive;  Lithontripic;  Poultice. The leaves are diuretic and febrifuge. They are used as a pot herb and are then said to be antibilious, antidote and lithontripic. The stem bark is demulcent, diuretic, febrifuge and lenitive. It is mixed with oil and vinegar then used as a poultice (medicinal cream) on abscesses, mastitis and swellings.

 

LOOK-A-LIKES:  

 

POISONOUS LOOK-A-LIKES: 

 

OTHER USES: Fibre;  Shelterbelt;  Wood. A coarse cloth is made from the inner bark. A fairly wind resistant tree, it can be grown as part of a shelterbelt planting. Wood - hard, heavy, tough, difficult to split. Used for agricultural implements, boat making etc.(1)

 

SOURCE LINKS (may include nutritional and medicinal info, plus other uses):

  1. https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Ulmus+pumila
  2. http://www.eattheweeds.com/chinese-elm-a-tree-that-doesnt-go-dutch-2
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulmus_pumila
  4.  http://www.foragingtexas.com/2006/04/slippery-elm.html (good photos of Slippery Elm)
  5. https://wildfoodgirl.com/2016/elm-samaras-edible-gourmet
  6. http://www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org/pages/plants/elm_siberian.html (good photos)