Celtis occidentalis
bois inconnu, common hackberry, hackberry, micocoulier occidental, western hackberry
gray, deeply furrowed, warty with age.
without thorns, spreading, young branches mostly pubescent.
blade lance-ovate to broadly ovate or deltate, 5-12 × 3-6(-9) cm (on fertile branches), leathery, base oblique or obliquely somewhat acuminate, margins conspicuously serrate to well below middle, teeth 10-40, apex acuminate;
surfaces scabrous.
dense pendulous clusters.
dark orange to purple- or blue-black when ripe, orbicular, to 7-11(-20) mm diam., commonly with thick beak;
pedicel to 15 mm.
light yellow, weak.
cream colored, 7-9 × 5-8 mm, reticulate.
= 20, 30, and 40.
Celtis occidentalis
Celtis occidentalis is valued as an ornamental street tree because of its tolerance to drought.
Native Americans used decoctions prepared from the bark of Celtis occidentalis medicinally as an aid in menses and to treat sore throat (D. E. Moerman 1986).
This is a highly variable species. Segregates named as varieties follow an east-west geographic gradient and are based primarily on leaf size, shape, and pubescence.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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