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Glite Dictionary
Ulmus americana

Ulmus americana

8.2
A large tree that loses its leaves with wide graceful branches often planted in parks for shade
  • noun
  • /ˈʌlməs əˈmɛrɪkənə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : olmo americano
  • "But, ironically," says Townsend, "the American elm, Ulmus americana, is the elm species most susceptible to the European disease."
  • Ulmus americana elm
  • American elm

Examples

  • Many cities have planted Ulmus americana along their boulevards for its impressive canopy.

  • PHOTO (COLOR): American elm, Ulmus americana L.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The Ulmus americana is a beautiful tree that provides shade in many parks and streets.

  • In early spring, the Ulmus americana blossoms with small flowers before the leaves appear.

Synonyms

American elm
vsUlmus americana
  • US
1 4.6

A large shade tree from eastern North America with wide, arching branches

is the scientific species name rather than the common planting label
white elm
vsUlmus americana
  • US
6.4

A large tree from eastern North America with wide branches that give good shade

is the formal scientific name instead of the descriptive common name

Surface Forms

Ulmus americana singular
Ulmus americanas plural

Morphology

Ulmus + americana

This is a compositional Latin binomial: 'Ulmus' denotes the elm genus and 'americana' functions as an adjectival modifier meaning 'American', so the combined meaning 'American elm' follows directly from the parts. Taxonomic genus + specific epithet patterns are regular and cross-linguistically recognizable, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Ulmus americana is a scientific name used by plant scientists. The first word, Ulmus, is Latin for 'elm' and the second, americana, means 'from America', so the name simply tells us it is the American elm.