An elm tree grows in Springfield

At the property line between two houses on Myrtle St., a tall tree with a wide base bows its branch tips gracefully.
http://www.vermontjournal.com/content/elm-tree-grows-springfield

An Elm Tree Grows in Springfield Submitted by admin on Tue, 03/25/2014 - 4:49pm By ANNE DEMPSEY The Shopper SPRINGFIELD, VT -At the property line between two houses on Myrtle St., a tall tree with a wide base bows its branch tips gracefully. It is not the only American elm tree in town. It’s not the oldest or the biggest in the area, either. Last spring, young squirrels chased each other around its massive trunk. During a snow squall this February, a pileated woodpecker noisily pounded its beak into the elm’s bark. A flock of starlings rested in its upper boughs last night. Some ten or twelve at a time sailed down to a deep puddle made of melted snow, took perhaps their first bath of the season, then re-joined the crowd at the top of the tree. Sam Schneski of Springfield’s Fish and Wildlife Forestry department says there are a number of elms in town. Once abundant in eastern forests, they can live up to 300 years old. Many towns and cities chose to plant them along streets and in parks because of their stately vase-like beauty. Their broad crowns provide sizeable areas of shade in the summer. In autumn, their leaves turn deep yellow. What makes this local elm and all live elm trees remarkable is that they survived the deadly epidemic of Dutch elm disease which began in the late 1920’s and peaked in the 1970’s. Over 40 million died during this period. Elm trees are still susceptible to this disease. The trees are killed by a fungus, which is spread from one tree to another by bark beetles. The fungus can also spread from one elm to another by way of their intertwining roots. Many cities cull any effected trees as soon as early symptoms, such as wilting leaves, appear. It is believed that the disease was brought to the states on wood from the Netherlands. Forestry staff at the Vermont Fish and Wildlife keep records on the location of the biggest tree of each species in the state. The biggest elm tree in Vermont is believed to be in Saxtons River on Rockingham Hill Rd. It measures 124 feet tall. Its circumference is 201 feet and its crown spread is 110 feet. Over the years, disease resistant elm trees have been developed. Arborists can also inject chemical solutions into trees that halt the progress of the Dutch elm disease. Early spring is a great season for tree identification. Before trees unfurl their leaves, their silhouettes are easy to see. So are the varieties of birds’ nests in their branches.