Elm Seedling Growing Wild on the Edge of a Parking Lot

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An elm seedling coming up between low concrete barriers at the edge of the parking lot between the lot and the sidewalk, near a signpost

Jul 7th, 2011, by Alex Zorach

This photo shows an elm seedling, probably an American elm (but I am not sure on the ID), coming up wild at the edge of a parking lot in Philadelphia, between the parking lot and the sidewalk. Elm trees grow well in cities and often can grow aggressively under adverse conditions where few other trees grow. As a native tree, they are beneficial to the local ecology; however, due to Dutch Elm Disease, these trees rarely reach full size.