Zelkova (from the Georgian dzelkva, 'stone pillar') is a genus of six species of deciduous trees in the elm family Ulmaceae, native to southern Europe, and southwest and eastern Asia.

Staminate flowers are clustered in the lower leaf axils of young branchlets; the perianth is campanulate, with four to six (to seven) lobes, and the stamens are short.

[5][6] Species of Zelkova were important elements of the vast forests that prevailed throughout the Northern Hemisphere during much of the Cenozoic Period.

[7][8][9] Today, the genus comprises six species with disjunct distribution patterns:[10] three in eastern Asia [Zelkova serrata (Thunb.)

The oldest fossils attributed to Zelkova date from the early Eocene (55 million years ago) in western North America, where the genus is extinct today.

The two known populations close to Syracuse (Bosco Pisano and Ciranna) comprise a small number of low shrubs suffering from severe overgrazing; the natural mature size of undamaged specimens is unknown.

[17] Whilst all the known Zelkova taxa are currently in cultivation and in botanic gardens or arboreta, relatively few collections are known to be from wild sourced material or known in the countries of their natural distribution.

[23] The retrieval of ancient patterns may be specific to tree species, which are assumed to evolve more slowly than herbaceous plants and shrubs.

[citation needed] The name Zelkova derives from the native name of Z. carpinifolia in the Georgian language – one of the Kartvelian languages spoken in the Caucasus, as shown by the Georgian name, dzelkva, from the words dzeli, meaning 'bar' or 'pillar', and kva meaning 'rock' or 'stone' The tree was often used for making rock-hard and durable bars for building and furniture.