Celtis
Celtis, Courtesy Jim Manhart

Genus Celtis L.

Common Name: Hackberry

Family: Ulmaceae

Benjamin H. Holland

Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Microbiology
University of Georgia, Athens

Description

The Celtis genus is part of the Ulmaceae family commonly known as the Elm family. Celtis is a genus consisting of about eighty deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. Most of these are found in the Northern Hemisphere. In North America the one other genera, Ulmus, and Celtis make up the 14 native and one naturalized tree species in North America. Six of these occuring in North Carolina, five in Virginia and South Carolina, and eight in Tennessee.(Everett, T.H. 1968.) The morphology that distinguishes Celtis from the family are the leaf characteristics: Deciduous, alternate and distichous, simple; stipules scarious, linear, villous, ca. 1 cm long, caducous; membranous to subcoriaceous; venation pennate.( Stevens, H.A. 1973.). The pith of mature twigs with closely and usually irregularly spaced chambers seperated by partitions also defines this Genus. The buds are small, and axillary buds are appressed. The leaves of Celtisresemble those of Ulmus, however, Celtis is found with three main veins rather than one emerging from the leaf base. Celtis also possesses one-seeded fleshy fruit and is deciduous. Flowers are small, green, and unisexual-both sexes of flowers appearing on the same plant. Male flowers are found with 4-5 stamens. Female flowers have a single pistil and 4-5 infertile stamens. These flowers appear with the leaves.( Duncan, W.H. & W.B. Duncan. 1988.)

The trees withen the complicated genus of Celtis differ to an extent that samples from different parts of one tree might be taken as two seperate specimens. There are three common varieties within the genus: var. occidentalis having scabrous leaves and dark brown fruits; var. pumila (Pursh) possessing smooth, thin leaves, an uneven base, and brown to purple fruits; var. canina (Raf.) Sarg., having thin, smooth, narrow leaves with symmetrical base, and brown to purple fruits.( Stevens, H.A. 1973.) These variations are found widespread but still intermediate forms exist in multitude.



Members of Celtis

Species Common name Source
C. laevigata Willd. Sugarberry, southern hackberry Stevens, H.A. 1973
C. occendentalis L. Hackberry Duncan, W.H. & W.B. Duncan. 1988.
C. tenuifoliaNutt. Dwarf hackberry Stevens, H.A. 1973
C. reticulataTorr. Neatleaf hackberry Stevens, H.A. 1973

LINK:Texas A&M Bioinformatics Project


Key

( Cronquist, A. and H. Gleason. 1991.):

Leaves lanceolate, +/- long-accuminate, entire or rarely with a few teeth; style promptly deciduous
. . . C. laevigata
Leaves either distincly broader than lanceolate, or evidently serrate, or both; style +/- persistent.
Leaves evidently serrate to well below the middle; fruiting pedicels surpassing the petioles
. . . C. occidentalis
Leaves entire, or with a few scattered teeth above the middle' fruiting pedicels about as along as the petioles.
. . . C. tenuifolia

General Information about Celtis

In North America, Celtisranges from Quebec to Manitoba, North Carolina, Alabama and Kansas, Indiana and Illinois, and southward. The two native american species, Hackberry(C. occidentalis) and closely related Sugarberry (C. laevigata) both have dense round heads.( Milne, L. & M. Milne. 1975.) These produce lumber that is sold as soft elm. These two species also frequent streets in the southern United States as a popular landscape decoration. Elsewhere in the world, Celtis is seen in demand as a source of tough lumber and other purposes such as pestles(C. adolphi-friderici). Some species are known to live for as long as a thousand years ( Everett, T.H. 1968.) The genus Celtis has its roots in every corner of the world and is prominent in the different societies that utilize this resource for practical application as well as its beauty.

Other links to Genus: Celtis

References

  1. Brown, C. and K. Kirman. 1990. Trees of Georgia and Adjacent States. Timber Press, INC. Portland, OR.
  2. Cronquist, A. and H. Gleason. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of the Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. 2nd Ed. New york Botanical Garden, New York.
  3. Duncan, W.H. & W.B. Duncan. 1988. Trees of the Southeastern United States. THe Uneversity of Georgia Press. Athens, GA.(ISBN 0-8203-0954-0). 322 pages.
  4. Everett, T.H. 1968. Living Trees of the World. Chanticleer Press New York.
  5. Gray, A. 1864. Lessons in Botany. Ivison, Phinney, Blakeman & Co. New York.
  6. Hardin, J.W. 1992. Foliar Morphology of the Common Trees of North Carolina and Adjacent Sates. Dept. of Botany, North Carolina University. Raleigh, NC.
  7. Jones, S.B. & Coile. 1988. The Georgia Plant List. Dept. of Botany, University of Georgia. Athens. GA.
  8. Milne, L. & M. Milne. 1975. Living Plants fo the World. Chanticleer Press. New York.
  9. Odenwald, N. & J. Turner. 1996. Identification Selection and Use of Southern Plants for Landscape Design. 3rd Ed. Claitor's Publishing Division. Baton Rouge, LA.
  10. Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles & C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. university of North Carolina. Press. Chapel Hill, NC.(ISBN 0-8078-1087-8.)
  11. Stevens, H.A. 1973. Woody Plants of the North Central Plains. University Press fo Kansas. Lawrence, KA.

    12. Internet Access Sources:

  12. Manhart, Jim. Texas A&M University, Dept. of Biology; http://csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/MANHART/homepage.html

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Last Updated on July 10,1998 Benjamin H. Holland