Single Record

Participant Info

Species
Ulmus pumila
Family
Ulmaceae
CommonName
Siberian elm
Presence
YES
Status
exotic, noxious
EarliestDate
1999
LatestDate
2023
Ecosystem
basin, shrubland, foothill, ruderal, urban
Geobotanical
UBasin, LBasin
Counties
Costilla, Rio Grande, Saguache
Passes
WildlifePreserves
Baca, Great Sand Dunes
Other Localities
Alamosa (town), Del Norte
Comments
For Siberian elm there are only three Watershed locations represented by vouchers: two alongside irrigation ditches south of San Luis in Costilla Co, and one from the Baca NWR in Saguache Co. This herbarium record is a misrepresentation of the exotic's presence in the Watershed. Ulmus pumila is wide spread in Valley towns. For instance it grows all over Del Norte in ditches, residential properties, and street sides, both large older trees and new saplings. These observations would add Rio Grande to counties indicated in Ackerfield (2022) and BONAP (2022). The species is on the Colorado Department of Agriculture's "Watch" list for "noxious weeds." Ulmus pumila is recorded from every county in New Mexico, and continues down the Rio Grande drainage to the Big Bend country of Texas. It is present in every USA state except for Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. Incidentally, don't be misled by the specific epithet ("pumila"). Siberian elm can grow up to 30 meters high.