Orme Saint-Gervais, Notable tree near Saint-Gervais church, Paris, France

The Orme Saint-Gervais is a field elm (Ulmus minor) about 15 m tall with a trunk circumference of 1.9 m, set in a circular stone-edged bed on the paving of place Saint-Gervais, before the west facade of the church. Its trunk splits into several limbs above a third of its height, and a scar from a lightning strike marks the bark. White painted letters and numbers, with yellow spray marks below, are visible on one side; clusters of small greenish flowers hang among the bright green leaves.

An elm has stood here since the 13th century, when it marked a place of justice and of debt repayment. The tree was felled on 2 Ventôse an II (20 February 1794) by the Commune of Paris, its wood used to make gun carriages. Replanted in the 19th century and again on 10 March 1914, the present elm dates from 1935.

The saying "Attendez-moi sous l'orme!" (wait for me under the elm) referred to this tree, where people met in the Middle Ages to recover debts. The parish clergy of Saint-Gervais long used the elm as its letterhead, and the motif survives on the stalls of the church and in the ironwork of the second-floor balconies of nos. 2 to 14 rue François-Miron, the Louis XV "maisons à l'orme".

The tree is located just next to the Hôtel de Ville metro station and is easy to reach. The plaza in front of the church is open and accessible at any time, making it convenient for a quick visit or passing through.

The elm motif appears in the wrought-iron balconies on the second floor of the buildings at nos. 2 to 14 rue François-Miron, next to the church. These Louis XV houses were known as the "maisons à l'orme". The parish clergy also used the tree as a letterhead, and stalls in the church still carry its motif.