northern hackberry

(Celtis occidentalis)

Conservation Status
northern hackberry
Photo by Randy
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

N5? - Secure

SNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
Wetland Indicator Status
     
  Great Plains

FACU - Facultative upland

     
  Midwest

FAC - Facultative

     
  Northcentral & Northeast

FAC - Facultative

     
           
 
Description
 
 

Northern hackberry is a medium to large, moderately fast-growing, deciduous tree. In Minnesota mature trees are usually 40 to 60 tall and 10 in 16 in diameter at breast height. Large individuals can reach up to 75 in height and 56 in diameter. It is moderately long-lived, often reaching between 150 and 200 years in age. It has a deep, fibrous root system that, where conditions permit, may be10 to 20 feet deep. It has no taproot. It is usually found as scattered individuals in river terraces and floodplains, but it can persist when planted (by humans or birds) in dry upland areas.

The trunk is slender and usually divided near the base of the crown into a few large, upright, spreading limbs. On older trees the trunk is significantly flared at the base where it joins the surface roots. The branches are gracefully spreading and sometimes slightly drooping at the ends. Young trees have an oval crown. Older trees have a spreading, irregularly rounded crown.

The bark on young trees is thin, smooth, and light grayish-brown. It soon develops warty raised knobs, which develop into narrow, vertical, wavy, corky ridges as the tree ages. The wing-like ridges on otherwise smooth bark is a unique identifying feature of this tree. As the tree matures the ridges become flattened and more closely spaced and the bark becomes scaly.

First-year twigs are slender, slightly zigzagged, green becoming tinged with brown, and usually hairy. Second-year twigs are brown and hairless. Leaf scars are U-shaped to semicircular and have three dot-like bundle scars. The pith is white and is finely chambered, at least at the leaf nodes.

Lateral buds are reddish-brown, egg-shaped, flattened, pointed, ¼ to 5 16 long, and closely appressed to the twig. There is no true terminal bud, but the lateral bud at the end of the twig is often bent sideways.

The leaves are deciduous, alternate, and unlobed. They and are attached to the twig on a slender, hairy, ¼ to long leaf stalk. The blades are leathery, egg-shaped to lance-shaped, 2 to 4¾ long, and 13 16 to 2¼ wide. They taper gradually to a long, drawn out point at the tip with concave sides along the tip. The base is asymmetrical, rounded or somewhat heart-shaped. The upper surface is dark green and may be either mostly hairless or covered with short, straight hairs. The lower surface is pale green and hairy along the veins. The margins are toothed from the tip to well below the middle but not near the base. There are 10 to 40 sharp, forward pointing teeth per side. There are three main veins, one midrib and a pair of veins that originate just below the base of the blade, and 4 or 5 lateral veins per side that originate at at intervals along the midrib. The leaves turn light yellow in the fall.

Flowers appear in late April to late May. Male and female flowers are borne on the same first-year brachlet of the same tree. Male flowers appear on 1 16 to ¼ long stalks in small clusters at the base of the twig. Each male flower has 4 or 5 greenish or yellowish sepals, no petals, and 5 or 6 stamens on white filaments. Female flowers appear on to long stalks singly or in pairs in a leaf axil of the twig. Each female flower has 4 or 5 greenish or yellowish sepals, no petals, and 2 stigmas that are bent backward. The flowers are pollinated by the wind

The fruit is a fleshy, relatively dry drupe with a single pitted stone. It is spherical, ¼ to ½ in diameter, and is tipped with the remnants of the style. It is green at first, turning dull reddish-purple and often wrinkled at maturity. It matures in August to late September and remains on the tree until eaten by a bird.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

40 to 60

 
     
 

Record

 
 

The champion northern hackberry in Minnesota is on private property near Janesville, in Waseca County. In 2018 it was measured at 84 tall and 173 in circumference (55 in diameter), with a crown spread of 50.

 
     
 

Flower Color

 
 

Green

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Moist; river terraces, floodplains; moderately shade tolerant when young.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

Late April to late May

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

hackberry nipple gall maker (Pachypsylla celtidismamma)

hackberry witches’ broom mite (Eriophes celtis)

 
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 28, 29, 30.

 
  5/22/2023      
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Native

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)  
  Superorder Rosanae  
 

Order

Rosales (roses, elms, figs, and allies)  
 

Family

Cannabaceae (hackberry)  
 

Genus

Celtis (hackberries)  
       
 

The genus Celtis was formerly placed in the family Ulmus (elms). A molecular phylogenetic study in 2002 caused a reordering of families in the order Rosales. As a result, this genus is now grouped with hemp and hops in the family Cannabaceae. The leading sources for taxonomic ranking, including ITIS, NCBI, GRIN, and The Plant List reflect this change. Most botanical sources, including PLANTS and Flora of North America (FNA), do not.

 
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

 

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

common hackberry

hackberry

northern hackberry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Stigma

In plants, the portion of the female part of the flower that is receptive to pollen. In Odonata and Hymenoptera, a blood-filled blister or dark spot at the leading edge of each wing toward the tip, thought to dampen wing vibrations and signal mates. In Lepidoptera, an area of specialized scent scales on the forewing of some skippers, hairstreaks, and moths.

 
 
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Randy

 
 

Fruit of a northern hackberry, Freeborn County, MN, July 2017

 
    northern hackberry      
           
 

Northern hackberry, Freeborn County, MN, July 2017. They can get quite large

 
    northern hackberry      
           
 

Young northern hackberry

 
    northern hackberry      
           
 

Middle aged northern hackberry

 
    northern hackberry      
           
 

Older northern hackberry

 
    northern hackberry      
           
 

Northern hackberry trunk

 
    northern hackberry      
           
 

Open grown northern hackberry, showing strong branching form, Freeborn County, MN, December 2016. Makes a splendid shade tree.

  northern hackberry  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
    northern hackberry      

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Celtis occidentalis
Blake C. Willson
 
  Celtis occidentalis  
 
About

Common Hackberry

 
  Common Hackberry
J.Steinbock
 
  Common Hackberry  

 

slideshow

       
 
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Other Videos
 
  How To Identify Hackberry Tree - Wild Edible Berries
MiWilderness
 
   
 
About

Published on Nov 2, 2013

How to identify hackberry tree. Wild edible berries are abundant, taste great, and are good for health.

Hackberry trees, Celtis occidentalis, can be found throughout most of North America. Close relatives of hackberry, such as sugarberry, Celtis laevigata, and Celtis australis can be found in other parts of North America and throughout the world.

The entire hackberry fruit is considered edible and can be ground as seasoning, made into hackberry milk, eaten raw as a whole food, or the thin sweet berry can be removed from the seed or nut and prepared into jams, jellies, fruit leather, etc.

Hackberries are high in protein, fat and carbohydrates, the three essential nutrients for survival, Hackberries are a great source of calcium, phosphorus and other micro-nutrients. Potentially a great winter survival super food, hackberries ripen in September and October lasting on the tree into winter, or even spring in some situations.

Hackberry is in the elm family, recently placed in the hemp family along with Cannabis, and has medicinal properties similar to that of other elm species. A hackberry bark decoction was used to treat sore throats and an extraction of the wood was used to treat venereal disease.

Hackberry wood is quite hard and was used for fencing and cheap furniture. Hackberry wood seems a bit springy to me, similar to hickory, and may possibly be used to make primitive bow staves.

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  Trees with Don Leopold - hackberry
ESFTV
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Oct 10, 2011

No description available.

   

 

Camcorder

 
 
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  Randy
July, 2017

Location: Freeborn County, MN

They can get quite large

northern hackberry  
  Randy
December, 2016

Location: Freeborn County, MN

Middle aged northern hackberry

northern hackberry  
           
 
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