Sugar hackberry

Sugar hackberry (Celtis laevigata) also called Sugarberry, Southern hackberry or Hackberry, is a type of hardwood tree native to the Southeastern United States. In the forest, the tree can reach 80 feet tall with well-spaced drooping branches and a broad, rounded or open crown. The name derives from "hagberry", a Scottish term meaning "marsh berry".

The tree is characterized by variation. Its leaves vary in shape and edge serration from tree to tree, but are most commonly long lance-shaped with smooth or widely serrated edges. They are generally smooth on top with the palmate veins more pronounced on the underside. The leaves alternate in rows along fine, green stems. The reddish-brown twigs zigzag from stipule to stipule. The bark on limbs and trunk is smooth and gray, but marked by irregular warty outgrowths. The flowers are small and green, found at the base of leaves in early Spring. The fruit consists of 1/4" diameter drupes, each containing one seed.

The wood of the Sugar hackberry is classified as Elm for commercial purposes, and shares the characteristics which make it valuable in furniture, athletic equipment and veneer, and is often lighter in color than similar woods.

The Sugar hackberry is common in moist clayey soil near stream banks or on alluvial plains, but is highly adaptable to varying soils. It is cultivated as a shade tree in urban areas and its fruit is a favorite of songbirds. The tree's leaf litter contains chemical substances which suppress germination and growth of competing plants.

References

• Kirkman, L. Katherine, Claude L. Brown & Donald J. Leopold (2007) Native Trees of the Southeast. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press ISBN 9780881928280
• Celtis laevigata (April 24, 2010) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia - accessed May 10, 2010