font settings and languages

Font Size: Large | Normal | Small
Font Face: Verdana | Geneva | Georgia
Languages:

Celtis occidentalis

(American Hackberry)

Overview

[ Back to top ]

Interesting Facts

[ Back to top ]

Common Names

[ Back to top ]

Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Afrikaans:

Vals Witstinkhout

Common Names in English:

American Hackberry, Common Hackberry, Hackberry, Nettletree, Northern Hackberry, Sugarberry, Western Hackberry

Common Names in French:

Micocoulier Occidental

Common Names in unspecified:

Hackberry, Western Hackberry

Description

[ Back to top ]

Family Cannabaceae

Herbs, annual or perennial , erect or twining , dioecious or sometimes monoecious, often with cystoliths (a hard calcium carbonate structure at base of a hair) . Stems furrowed or winged . Stipules free . Leaves alternate or opposite, palmately lobed or compound , sometimes simple . Male inflorescences a bracteate cymose panicle. Male flowers: pedicellate ; sepals 5, free; petals absent; stamens 5, opposite sepals; filaments short; anthers 2-loculed, dehiscent by longitudinal slits. Female inflorescences a bracteate spicate cyme much reduced in Cannabis, pendent or erect. Female flowers: sessile; calyx appressed to ovary, membranous; petals absent; ovary 1-loculed; ovule solitary, pendulous from locule apex; style 2-parted, branches filiform . Fruit an achene, covered by persistent calyx; endosperm fleshy ; embryo curved or spirally involute .

Two genera and four species: N Africa, Asia, Europe, North America; two genera and four species (one endemic) in China.

Because all the Chinese species in this family are cultivated and are often found naturalized in disturbed habitats , it is difficult to know the true wild distributions.

Cannabaceae has sometimes been included in Moraceae or Urticaceae but is now usually recognized as a distinct family. The subfamily Celtidoideae of Ulmaceae could possibly be included within Cannabaceae (see the discussion after the Ulmaceae family description ) .[1]

Genus Celtis

Trees or rarely shrubs , to 30 m ; crowns spreading . Bark usually gray, smooth or often fissured and conspicuously warty. Branches without or with thorns , slender, glabrous or pubescent . Leaves: stipules falling early. Leaf blade deltate to ovate to oblong-lanceolate, base oblique or cuneate to rounded , margins entire or serrate-dentate; venation 3(-5) -pinnate. Inflorescences: staminate inflorescences cymes or fascicles; pistillate solitary or few-flowered clusters . Flowers usually unisexual , staminate and pistillate on same plants , along with a few bisexual flowers, pedicellate on branches of current year, appearing in mid or late spring . Staminate flowers : filaments incurved in bud, exserted after anthesis ; gynoecium minute, rudimentary . Pistillate flowers: calyx slightly to deeply 4(-5) -lobed; stamens 4-5, inserted on pilose receptacle, included , often nonfunctional filaments usually shorter than in staminate flowers, rarely absent; anthers ovate, face to face in bud, extrorse ; ovaries sessile, ovoid , 1-locular; styles short, sessile, divided into 2 divergent, elongate , reflexed lobes , lobes entire or 2-cleft. Fruits fleshy drupes, ovoid or globose ; outer mesocarp thick, firm, inner mesocarp thin, fleshy; stones thick walled, ripening in autumn, persisting after leaves fall . x = 10.

Species ca. 60: tropical and temperate regions , worldwide.

The hackberries provide important wildlife habitat , forming thickets that give shelter and fleshy drupes that ripen in autumn, persist after leaves fall, and supply winter food for birds and mammals. The treatment presented here is a simplified circumscription of species with no elaboration of infraspecific variation or interspecific hybridization. The group is taxonomically complex and in need of revision .[2]

Physical Description

Species Celtis occidentalis

Trees or shrubs , size varying greatly in response to habitat ; crowns rounded . Bark gray, deeply furrowed , warty with age. Wood light yellow, weak. Branches without thorns , spreading , young branches mostly pubescent . Leaves: petiole 0.5-1.2 mm. Leaf blade lance-ovate to broadly ovate or deltate, 5-12 × 3-6(-9) cm (on fertile branches), leathery, base oblique or obliquely somewhat acuminate, margins conspicuously serrate to well below middle , teeth 10-40, apex acuminate; surfaces scabrous . Inflorescences dense pendulous clusters . Drupes dark orange to purple- or blue-black when ripe , orbicular , to 7-11(-20) mm diam., commonly with thick beak ; pedicel to 15 mm. Stones cream colored , 7-9 × 5-8 mm, reticulate . 2 n = 20, 30, and 40. [source]

ID Features: Alternate leaf arrangement. Oblique leaf base. Rough leaf. Corky bark. Small, imbricate lateral buds. Terminal bud absent. Zigzag stem pattern. Serrated leaf tips. Small, red drupe fruit.

Habit: Large deciduous tree . Cylindrical shape when mature . Branches tend to droop. • Growth Form: Single StemShape and Orientation: Erect

Flowers: Blooms late April to early May. Emerge with leaves. Not ornamentally important. • Bloom Period: Mid SpringFlower Color: Green • Flower Conspicuous: No

Seeds: Seed per Pound: 43000 • Seed Spread Rate: Moderate • Seedling Vigor: Medium • Fruit: Orangy-red fleshy fruit. Drupe. Ripen in September - October. Edible, sweet date taste. Not ornamentally important. Flesh surround hard seed that can break teeth. • Fruit/Seed Abundance: High • Fruit/Seed Color: Purple • Fruit/Seed Conspicuous: No • Cold Stratification Required: Yes

Foliage: Foliage Color: Green • Summer foliage: Alternate leaf arrangement . Leaves are simple and are 3" to 5" long. Oblique leaf base. Serrate margins at leaf tip. Medium green color, pale yellow-green leaf underside. Leaves are glabrous on underside especially around veins. Leaves have rough texture . • Fall foliage: Yellow fall color. Not showy. • Foliage Porosity Summer: Dense • Foliage Porosity Winter: Porous • Foliage Texture: CoarseFall Conspicuous: Yes • Leaf Retention: No

Size/Age/Growth

Active Growth Period: Spring and Summer • Growth Rate: Moderate-fast. • Mature Height (feet): 50.0 • Maximum Height at 20 Years (feet): 25 • Size: 40' to 60' tall and has an almost equal spread . • Vegetative Spread Rate: None • Lifespan: Lifespan

Landscaping

Landscape Uses: Good tree for poor conditions. Park tree. Screen . For edible fruit. • Liabilities: Leaf spot, powdery mildew , hackberry nipple gall, scale. Witches' broom caused by insect. Problems don't kill tree , but make tree very unattractive.

Habitat

Flowering late winter-spring (Mar-May). In rich moist soil along streams , on flood plains , on rock, on wooded hillsides, and in woodlands; 0-1800 m [3].

Zone 3.

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,370 meters (0 to 7,776 feet).[4]

Biology

[ Back to top ]

Reproduction

Duration: PerennialCoppice Potential: Yes • Progagated by Bulbs: No • Propagated by Bare Root: Yes • Propagated by Container: Yes • Propagated by Corms: No • Propagated by Cuttings: No • Propagated by Seed: Yes • Propagated by Sod: No • Propagated by Sprigs: No • Propagated by Tubers: No • Fruit/Seed Period Begin: Summer • Fruit/Seed Period End: FallFruit/Seed Persistence: Yes

Growth

Culture: Easily transplant form B&B container or bare root . Prefers rich soil. Very soil adaptable. Tolerant of most conditions. Wind tolerant. Full sun . Urban tolerant.

Soil: Adapted to Medium Textured: Adapted to Medium Textured Soils • Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils: Yes • Anaerobic Tolerance: Medium • Salinity Tolerance: None • CaCO3 Tolerance: Medium • Minimum pH: 6.0 • Maximum pH: 7.8 • Fertility Requirement: Medium

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun . • Shade Tolerance: Intermediate

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High • Minimum Precipitation: 14 • Maximum Precipitation: 32 • Moisture Use: Low

Temperature: Minimum Temperature (F): -38 • Minimum Frost Free Days: 90 • Cold Hardiness: 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a. (map)

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

Notes

Publishing author : L. Publication : Sp. Pl. 2: 1044 1753 [1 May 1753]

Similar Species

[ Back to top ]

Members of the genus Celtis

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 31 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

C. australis (European Hackberry) · C. bungeana (Hackberry) · C. ehrenbergiana (Spiny Hackberry) · C. iguanaea (Iguana Hackberry) · C. jessoensis (Japanese Hackberry) · C. julianae (Julian Hackberry) · C. laevigata (Net-Leaf Hackberry) · C. laevigata reticulata (Netleaf Hackberry) · C. laevigata var. brevipes (Sugar Hackberry) · C. laevigata var. laevigata (Sugarberry) · C. laevigata var. reticulata (Netleaf Hackberry) · C. laevigata var. texana (Texas Sugarberry) · C. laevigata 'All Seasons' (Sugar Hackberry) · C. lindheimeri (Lindheimer Hackberry) · C. occidentalis (American Hackberry) · C. occidentalis L. var. occidentalis L. (Common Hackberry) · C. occidentalis L. var. pumila (Pursh) A.Gray (Common Hackberry) · C. occidentalis var. canina (Common Hackberry) · C. occidentalis var. occidentalis (Western Hackberry) · C. occidentalis var. pumila (Dwarf Hackberry) · C. occidentalis 'Chicagoland' (American Hackberry) · C. occidentalis 'Delta' (American Hackberry) · C. occidentalis 'Prairie Pride' (American Hackberry) · C. occidentalis 'Windy City' (American Hackberry) · C. pallida (Capul) · C. reticulata var. reticulata (Netleaf Hackberry) · C. sinensis (Chinese Elm) · C. sinensis 'Green Cascade' (Chinese Elm) · C. tenuifolia (Dwarf Hackberry) · C. tournefortii (Oriental Hackberry) · C. trinervia (Almex)

More Info

[ Back to top ]

Further Reading

[ Back to top ]

Notes

[ Back to top ]

Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 21, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Zhengyi Wu, Zhe-Kun Zhou & Bruce Bartholomew "Cannabaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 5 Page 74. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Celtis". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. "Celtis occidentalis". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  4. Mean = 302.900 meters (993.766 feet), Standard Deviation = 245.450 based on 2,268 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/14/2012