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18-oct-2020 (Sunday) – Berner St. big elm

I’ve been meaning to memorialize this big old Ulmus americana for some time. It’s on the East Side of Green Bay across from 1357 Berner St. (WGS84 latitude/longitude = 44.51886/-87.98770). I consider it special because it reminds me of the “elm tunnels” characteristic of Green Bay’s major streets when my family moved here in 1949. In the 1950s there was a big die-off due to Dutch Elm Disease. Elms weren’t wiped out completely and there are plenty of young trees around today. However individuals this big are pretty unusual. The Elm Bark Beetle (carrier of the Dutch Elm Disease pathogen) finds and kills most individuals before they get very big.

The individual in question matches the formal description in all respects:

“Large tree. 20-30 m. high and 50 to 120 cm in diameter. Trunk commonly dividing 6-9 m. above the ground into a few large branches that rise upward and outward to form a vase-shaped or umbrella-like outline; branchlets typically drooping…”

Michigan Trees

I measured the girth at 270 cm which translates to a diameter of 86 cm.

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