TREES AND SHRUBS The common elm, which so often grows in rows between the fields, or is planted on the village green, was brought to England by the Romans. It is not quite at home even now, for its seeds do not ripen, except in very hot summers, and new trees have to be planted from suckers.
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Elm-tree twigs. 1. Twig with flowers. 2. Twig with ovaries. The real old elm of England is the Wych elm or Scotch elm. It has not such a tall trunk as the common elm, for its big branches grow out much lower down. Its leaves are bigger, and its seeds ripen and grow, when they are sown. But it is not very common in our country and grows chiefly in Scotland, Wales, and the West of England. 236