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National Invasive Species Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Terrestrial Invasives
  3. Terrestrial Pathogens and Diseases
  4. Dutch Elm Disease

Dutch Elm Disease

Scientific Name

Ophiostoma ulmi (Buisman) Nannf. and Ophiostoma novo-ulmi Brasier (ITIS)

Common Name

Dutch elm disease (DED)

Native To

Unknown, possibly Asia (Brasier et al. 2001)

Date of U.S. Introduction

First discovered in the U.S. during the 1930s (Olson et al.)

Means of Introduction

Introduced accidentally on diseased logs imported from Europe (Flores 2006)

Impact

Lethal fungal disease of elm trees (particularly American elms (Ulmus americana), which are more susceptible to the disease than other elm species) (Olson et al.)

Current U.S. Distribution

Has been found throughout the entire U.S. except for the desert Southwest

Dutch elm disease - Invasive.org

Dutch elm disease symptoms

Credit

Roland J. Stipes Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Source
Invasive.org.

Find more images

Spotlights

  • Forest Service, Partners Work to Restore American Elm

    • Mar 29, 2023

    • USDA. Forest Service.

    • Once common across eastern North America, the American elm is deeply ingrained in our nation's history. However, a large portion of the tree population was affected by Dutch Elm Disease beginning in the 1930s. Today, short-lived elms can still be found in forests, but because they tend to be much smaller, they no longer play such an important ecological role. A multifaceted collaborative effort is underway to restore the stately and once dominant American elm to persist on the landscape of the nation's forests.

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

  • Alien Forest Pest Explorer (AFPE)

    • USDA. FS. Northern Research Station.

    • The Alien Forest Pest Explorer (AFPE) is an interactive web tool which provides detailed spatial data describing pest distributions and host inventory estimates for damaging, non-indigenous forest insect and disease pathogens currently established in the U.S. The database is maintained as a joint effort of Purdue University, the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station, and the U.S. Forest Service Forest Health Protection.

Videos

All Resources

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Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

Council or Task Force
Partnership
Federal Government

  • Strategies to Manage the Loss of Ash and Elm Trees

    • USDA. FS. Northern Research Station.

    • Ash and elm trees play important roles in the U.S. economy, culture, and environment. In the eastern United States, elm (especially American elm) and ash trees are in trouble because of two threats: the emerald ash borer (an insect that attacks ash) and Dutch elm disease (caused by a fungus that sickens elms). These pests are causing ash and elm trees to die off quickly. Because elm and ash trees serve important ecological roles where they are found, the loss of these trees can lead to profound changes across urban and rural environments.

International Government
State and Local Government
Academic
Professional
Citations