Zelkova schneideriana

Chinese zelkova is in the elm or Ulmaceae family and is native to parts of Asia and China.

• It typically has a short trunk with upward-spreading branches, forming a rounded to vase-shaped crown; twigs are slender and zigzag, with small cone-shaped buds that diverge at a 45° angle from the stem.
• Leaves dark green, ovate to long-ovate with an acuminate tip, sharply serrate, with parallel veins 5-7 cm long, 2–3.5 cm apart. Upper leaf is rougher than Z. serrata; underside is quite pubescent, as are the new shoots. Fall colour is yellow to orange-red.
• Species is monoecious with male (staminate) flowers about 3 mm in diameter, clustered in the axils of the lower leaves; female (pistillate) flowers are solitary and in the axils of the upper leaves, no stems (sessile) and about 1.5 mm in diameter; flowers are yellow-green, not showy, and occur in tight groups along new stems.
• Fruit is a dry 1/8” wide drupe, ripening in the fall.
• Bark is exfoliating, mosaic-like, orange, tan, green.