Editing Ulmus americana (section)

== Distribution and habitat ==
The American elm is native to eastern [[North America]], occurring from [[Nova Scotia]] west to [[Alberta]] and [[Montana]], and south to [[Florida]] and central [[Texas]]. It is an extremely [[Hardiness (plants)|hardy]] tree that can withstand winter temperatures as low as {{convert|-40|C}}.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bey |first1=Calvin F. |title=Ulmus americana L |url=https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_2/ulmus/americana.htm |website=Southern Research Station |publisher=Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture |access-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126213854/https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_2/ulmus/americana.htm |archive-date=26 January 2023 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref>

The species occurs naturally in an assortment of habitats, most notably rich bottomlands, floodplains, stream banks, and swampy ground, although it also often thrives on hillsides, uplands and other well-drained soils.<ref name="Werthner">{{cite book|last=Werthner|first=William B.|title=Some American Trees: An Intimate Study of Native Ohio Trees|year=1935|publisher=The Macmillan Company|location=New York|pages=xviii, 398}}</ref> On more elevated terrain, as in the [[Appalachian Mountains]], it is most often found along rivers.<ref name="Core WVa">{{cite book|last1=Strausbaugh|first1=P.D.|first2=E.L. |last2=Core|title=Flora of West Virginia|edition=2|year=1978|publisher=Seneca Books, Inc.|location=Morgantown, WV|pages=xl, 1079}}</ref> The species' [[seed dispersal|wind-dispersed]] seeds enable it to spread rapidly as suitable areas of habitat become available.<ref name="Werthner" /> American elm fruits in late spring (which can be as early as February and as late as June depending on the climate), the seeds usually germinating immediately, with no [[Stratification (seeds)#Cold stratification|cold stratification]] needed (occasionally some might remain dormant until the following year). The species attains its greatest growth potential in the Northeastern US, while elms in the Deep South and [[Texas]] grow much smaller and have shorter lifespans, although conversely their survival rate in the latter regions is higher owing to the climate being less favorable to the spread of DED.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

In the United States, the American elm is a principal member of four major forest cover types: [[Fraxinus nigra|black ash]]-American elm-[[red maple]]; [[silver maple]]-American elm; [[sugarberry]]-American elm-[[green ash]]; and [[American sycamore|sycamore]]-[[Liquidambar styraciflua|sweetgum]]-American elm, with the first two of these types also occurring in Canada.<ref>{{Silvics |volume=2 |genus=Ulmus |species=americana |first=Calvin F. |last=Bey |access-date=14 December 2014}}</ref> A [[sugar maple]]-[[Ostrya|ironwood]]-American elm cover type occurs on some hilltops near [[Témiscaming, Quebec|Témiscaming]], [[Quebec]].<ref name=Brown>{{cite book|last=Brown|first=Jean-Louis|year=1981|title=Les forêts du Témiscamingue, Québec: écologie et photo-interprétation|publisher=Laboratoire d'écologie forestière, Université Laval, Québec|location=Quebec City, Canada|language=fr|isbn=978-2-9201-0404-4}}</ref>