Zelkova serrata

Japanese zelkova or keyaki (in Japanese) is in the elm or Ulmaceae family and is native to Japan, Korea, eastern China and Taiwan. It is grown extensively as an ornamental tree, and is quite popular as bonsai.

• It typically has a short trunk which branches into spreading stems forming a broad, round-topped head.Twigs are slender and zigzag, with small cone-shaped buds that diverge at a 45° angle from the stem.
• Leaves are alternate, simple, roundly serrated, up to 12 cm long and slanted (asymmetrical) at the base like leaves as in the elm (Ulmus) genus. Pairs of pointed stipules are quite evident at the bases of new leaves in the spring, disappearing after flowering.
• Zelkovas are monoecious with the male (staminate) flowers about 3 mm in diameter, clustered in the axils of the lower leaves. The female (pistillate) flowers are solitary and in the axils of the upper leaves, no stems (sessile) and about 1.5 mm in diameter. The flowers are yellow-green, not showy, and occur in tight groups along new stems.