Mystery Elm Tree, I Presume?

What we have here is another mystery tree as I mentioned yesterday, but one for which I am leaning strongly towards elm tree as its identity.

Pennsylvania is home to both the American Elm and the Slippery Elm (among others), but for now I haven’t got a clue as to whether this tree is one of the two, or another type of elm entirely.

I do know that it’s gorgeous! Standing tall between the beech and the sycamore I’ve recently introduced you to, this tree once cradled a treehouse for my landlady’s son in his youth. Even without all its leaves on, this supposed-elm-tree is rapidly providing a lovely bit of shade in the northeastern corner of the farm.

What really takes my breath away with this particular tree is not only its elegance, but also those crazy green rosettes of “flowers”. They are actually more like seeds surrounded by circlets of paper-thin petal, all bunched together at the end of the twigs. It will be interesting to see whether those stick around, or grow into something different in coming weeks.

Clearly more investigation of the leaves, bark, fruit, and growth habits of this tree will be required in order to distinguish it from other elms. I’ll have to get back to you on the true identity of this one, but as always please feel welcome to add your own suggestions!