Common hackberry

Scientific name: Celtis occidentalis

Family: Cannabaceae (Hemp family)

Hackberry is a native tree that is easily recognizable from a distance by its light gray, warty bark on massive trunks. Hackberry frequents fencerows, fields, and wastelands, and grows naturally near bodies of water, including floodplains and drainage ditches. It prefers moist, well-drained soils of variable pH but can adapt to a variety of sites, including soils that are wet or dry, clay or rocky, rich or poor. It is very pollution-tolerant.

Identification

LEAF: Alternate, 3-5 inches long, asymmetrical at the leaf base, and have curving, pointed tips with serrated margins. Fall color is green to yellow and usually insignificant

TWIGS AND BUDS: Twigs are slender, zigzag in appearance, with small leaf scars. Terminal bud is absent and lateral buds are light brown and triangular in shape with three to four bud scales.

FRUIT OR SEED: Small, rounded, green droops on stalks (up to 1 inch) develop in summer and become purple or brown fruits by late autumn. Most fruits are consumed by birds in the autumn, but a few may survive the winter and still be present the following spring.

BARK: Bark is light gray and covered with warty or corklike projections.

SHAPE: Ascending or spreading canopy

MATURE HEIGHT: 60-80 feet.

Photo credits: ©Arthur Haines (Native Plant Trust), ©Arieh Tal (https://botphoto.info), Jean Baxter (© 2024 Native Plant Trust)