Louisiana Plant ID | Celtis laevigata (sugarberry)

FAMILY: ULMACEAE

ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: hackberry

LEAVES: alternate, simple, deciduous; blades lanceolate to lance-ovate, sometimes falcate; leaf bases asymmetrical, margins entire or toothed near apex; lower-most lateral veins palmate

FLOWER: greenish, near tips of branches; flowering in spring while new leaves emerge

FRUIT: dull orange drupe, 1/4” diameter, maturing in fall

TWIGS: light green to reddish brown, lustrous, glabrous or pubescent

BARK: smooth, light gray, mottled, with corky warts

FORM: medium-sized tree, to 80’ x 3’ diameter

HABITAT: bottomland hardwoods, wet to mesic hardwood flatwoods, well-drained hardwood or mixed pine-hardwood forests with rich soil

WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Wetland (FACW): Usually occurs in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region

RANGE: southeastern US [USGS Range MAP]

USES: wood of lower quality, grain resembles oak (“fake oak”), wood takes stain easily; used for furniture, boxes, veneer

WILDLIFE: fruit eaten by song and game birds; good fall and winter food for turkeys; commonly browsed by whitetail deer, reported to be very important browse in Atchafalaya Basin

Best Recognition Features:

smooth gray bark with corky warts
lanceolate leaves with asymmetrical bases and partially toothed margins
distinct leaf venation
fruit a dull orange drupe maturing in fall

School of Renewable Natural Reources	Louisiana Plant Identification and Interactive Virtual Tours Dr. Chris S. Reid, Project Director \| creid4@lsu.edu LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources LSU AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA © 2003-2020 website problems or broken links: mbowen@agcenter.lsu.edu page revised: 15-Jan-2020 4:11 PM msb	LSU AgCenter
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