Name
			
			
			
Hackberry
			
		
		
			
			
Family Species
			
			
			
Celtis occidentalis
			
		
		
			
			
Wildlife Value
			
			
			
Good
			
		
		
			
			
Average Height
			
			
			
60'
			
		
		
			
			
Origin
			
			
			
Native
			
		
		
			
			
Shade Tolerance
			
			
			
Moderate
			
		
		
			
			
Drought Tolerance
			
			
			
Fair
			
		
		
			
			
Growth Rate
			
			
			
Rapid
			
		
		
			
			
Fruit
			
			
			
Berry
			
		
		
			
			
Special Characteristics
			
			
			
Member of Elm Family
			
		
		
			
			
Seedling Size
			
			
			
12" to 18"
			
		
	
General Description
Common hackberry is a medium-size deciduous tree native to North America. It is a moderately long-lived hardwood with a light-colored wood, yellowish gray to light brown with yellow streaks.[2] The Common Hackberry is easily distinguished from elms and some other hackberries by its cork-like bark with wart-like protuberances. The leaves are distinctly asymmetrical and coarse-textured. It produces small berries that turn orange-red to dark purple in the Autumn, often staying on the trees for several months. Common Hackberry forms a medium sized tree, thirty to fifty feet in height, with a slender trunk; however, it can rise to the height of one hundred and thirty feet. In the middle states of its range it seldom attains a height of more than sixty feet, and has a handsome round-topped head and pendulous branches. It prefers rich moist soil, but will grow on gravelly or rocky hillsides. The roots are fibrous and it grows rapidly. The hackberry can regenerate by stump shoots and seed dispersion. In fact, because birds and small animals adore the hackberry fruit, the seed is widely dispersed. 
 
Uses
The hackberry is often used in landscape planting as a substitute for elm, which is subject to Dutch elm disease. Used for fencing and cheap furniture.