• • • • Soothe urinary tract and sore throat [2,3]
      • Relieve acid reflux [2]
      • Reduce inflammation [5]

While native to North Carolina, Ulmus rubra, is a long-lived elm tree that is rarely used in the landscape due to its rough texture and difficulty in finding commercially.

It grows in moist to somewhat dry calcareous soils in wooded areas, as well as in cove forests in the low mountains with soils rich in organic matter and drier upland soils. It is rarely seen above the elevation of 1800 feet.

Drought and partial shade are tolerated, although it favours sun and moist loam or clay loam soils. It may grow in any medium-quality soil as long as it is well-drained. In the wild, it can live for roughly 200 years as a somewhat fast-growing tree.

Because of the seed production, it can be weedy and messy. The tree can grow to be 70 feet tall with a diameter of 2 to 3 feet on its single trunk.

The moist inner bark is the source of the well-known slippery elm component used in throat lozenges in traditional medicine. Native Americans chewed the delicious, fibrous inner bark stripped from twigs and branches to relieve their thirst. Its common name comes from the fact that the inner bark is slick [1].