English elms have been decimated with beetle infestation but the occasional hedgerow sprouting manages to survive long enough to provide a usable section.
Main problem is getting it out of the hedgerow before it is totally rotten or fed to a hedge cutting bonfire.
Not particularly hard Vaughn, most is much more pliable than the average oak, tough is a word I would associate rather than hard, if anything it is easier to turn than work it Flat-world wise.
Very inclined to have interlocking grain difficult to avoid in larger sections, beautiful when finished but often entails modicum of swearing to get there.
Spot hand scraping or sanding with the grain can be a high percentage of the finishing time in either use.