Appendices & Glossary - Botanical Research Institute of Texas

1308 APPENDIX TWENTY-ONE/COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT TIMBER TREES OF EAST TEXAS
CELTIS LAEVIGATA Willd. HACKBERRY
(ULMACEAE, ELM FAMILY)
Other Common Names: SUGARBERRY, SUGAR HACKBERRY, TEXAS SUGARBERRY, SOUTHERN HACKBERRY, LOWLAND HACKBERRY,
PALO BLANCO
Form and Size: medium-size tree to 30 m; trunk straight, 0.3–1 m in diameter; crown spreading and broadly rounded.
Leaves: deciduous, simple, alternate, (4–)6–8(–15) cm long, (2–)3–4 cm wide, often curved, relatively narrow, elliptic-lanceolate
to ovate-lanceolate, broadest below the middle, tapering to a long-pointed tip, rounded and uneven at the base,
marginally entire or with a few small teeth, thin, light green and smooth above, paler and smooth beneath; petiole slender,
6–10 mm long, smooth.
Buds: tiny, broadest near the base and tapering to a point, 1.5–3 mm long, covered with tiny dark-brown scales.
Flowers: usually unisexual, the staminate and pistillate on the same plant (plants monoecious), but bisexual flowers also
present, borne in small fascicles (= clusters or bundles) or solitary, at the base of the leaves on younger branchlets, inconspicuous,
greenish, each flower with a 4- or 5-lobed calyx; corollas absent; stamens 4–5; pistil 1.
Fruits: small, spherical, smooth drupes, 6–8 mm in diameter, with a thin layer of flesh around a single hard stone, orange,
brown, dull or dark red to reddish black, sometimes with a raisin-like flavor; persisting after the leaves fall.
Bark: light gray to pinkish, smooth or typically conspicuously covered with wart-like or corky projections.
Wood: sapwood pale yellow to grayish or greenish yellow, frequently discolored with blue sap stain, wide; heartwood,
when present, yellowish gray to light brown streaked with yellow; wood soft, weak, straight- or sometimes interlockedgrained;
growth rings distinct.
Habitat: stream bottoms, floodplains, slopes, rocky hillsides; generally in clay soils.
Range: widespread in the eastern 2/3 of Texas; mainly southeastern U.S. from MD south to FL west to KS and TX.
Principal Uses: often not distinguished from and used for the same purposes as AMERICAN and SLIPPERY ELMS or WHITE
ASH. The better grades are used principally for furniture and to a lesser extent for millwork and sporting goods. Lowgrade
lumber is used to make boxes and crates. It is particularly used for furniture since the light-colored wood can be
stained light- to medium-brown without prior bleaching.
Historical Uses: the species was not important when other woods were plentiful.
Other Significant Information: Celtis laevigata is a fast growing species that probably does not live more than 125–150
years. In the past it was used as an ornamental and street tree due to its drought resistance, but it is less used at present
because of problems including the weak wood (and thus susceptibility to ice and wind damage). In addition, leachates
from the leaves reduce the germination and growth of grasses beneath the trees. Hackberry trees are almost never seen
in East Texas without the presence of parasites—mistletoe and/or various galls. The galls sometimes affect the leaves,
while in other cases the twigs can be involved. “In autumn … the berries exude a sweet sticky substance, which attracts
millions of mealy-bugs. When overstuffed with it they secrete a honeydew of saccharine sweetness, known as ghost
rain” (Peattie 1948).
Recognition in the Field: the combination of alternate, simple, usually entire, relatively narrow leaves with uneven leaf
bases, often conspicuously warty bark, and small (6–8 mm) spherical fruits make the species distinctive.