American Elm, Sprouting off Branches and Trunk

In Albums: trees

A large American elm tree, leafing out in the spring, showing many small dead branches, sprouting mainly out of the trunk and off various large branches

Apr 27th, 2006, by Alex Zorach

This photo shows an American elm tree, Ulmus americana, which is showing signs of disease or stress. Many of the smaller branches of this tree have died. In order to make up for the lost areas of branches, the tree has resprouted vigorously from numerous areas on the main trunk and smaller branches, giving the tree an odd appearance. Although the overall shape of the larger branches of this tree are characteristic of the American elm, the smaller details of growth of this tree are quite different from a typical elm.

I am not sure if this tree is suffering from Dutch elm disease, the fungus that wiped out most of the American elms, but from my knowledge of this disease, I think this is unlikely as I do not see any signs of this particular disease. I am curious what has caused this tree to become damaged or stressed in this manner.