Zelkova

Zelkova is a genus of six species of deciduous trees in the elm family Ulmaceae, native to southern Europe, and southwest and eastern Asia. They vary in size from shrubs (Zelkova sicula) to large trees up to 35 m tall (Zelkova carpinifolia). The leaves are alternate, with serrated margins, and (unlike the related elms) a symmetrical base to the leaf blade. The fruit is a dry, nut-like drupe, produced singly in the leaf axils.


The Sicilian Zelkova Z. sicula, only discovered in 1991, is listed as an endangered species. The only known population comprises a small number of low shrubs suffering from severe overgrazing; the natural mature size of undamaged specimens is unknown.

The genus Zelkova was common throughout northern Europe and North America as late as the Pliocene. However, extensive Pleistocene glaciation has confined the genus to its present range to the eastern Mediterranean islands and the Caucasus, and in eastern Asia where only local glaciation occurred.


Zelkova serrata and Zelkova carpinifolia are grown as ornamental trees. The wood is hard, used for making furniture.


Species
Zelkova abelicea is a species of plant in the Ulmaceae family. It is endemic to Greece. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Zelkova serrata (Keyaki or Japanese Zelkova) is a species of Zelkova native to Japan, Korea, eastern China, and Taiwan. It is often grown as an ornamental tree, both in its native area and in Europe and North America. The first cultivation outside of Asia was by Philipp Franz von Siebold, who introduced it to the Netherlands in 1830.

Zelkova carpinifolia (Zelkova or Caucasian Zelkova) is a species of Zelkova, native to the Caucasus, Kaçkar, and Alborz mountains in the extreme southeast of Europe and southwest Asia. It is grown as an ornamental tree in Europe (huge exemplars of it can be found quite often in western part of Georgia called Imereti, used for decorating courtyards in villages and making a pleasant shadow) and more rarely in North America

Zelkova sicula is a species of Zelkova in the family Ulmaceae, endemic to Sicily. It is a deciduous shrub growing to 2–3 m tall; its natural mature size is unknown, as all existing specimens have been heavily browsed by goats, limiting their growth. The leaves are oval, 1–5 cm long and 0.5–3.5 cm broad, with a petiole 1–4 mm long; the margins are lobed, with six to eight lobes on each side.

Zelkova schneideriana

Zelkova sinica

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