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Instructors of native landscaping workshops often comment that because the hackberry tree is the most important plant to native Texas wildlife, then every yard should have one. As laughter ripples through the room, Texans will explain to the puzzled students who just moved here, that the challenge is to keep the hackberry trees to just one.
Ten native species of birds eat the fruits and excrete seeds; so hackberry seedlings often sprout along the fencelines where birds land after feasting. Robins, mockingbirds, and other songbirds favor hackberry fruit.
This deciduous tree is pollinated by bees. Hackberry petiole gall psyllid does not harm the tree but is so common that the galls formed by this insect are sometimes used to identify the tree as a hackberry.
Celtis laevigata is referred to as “palo blanco” (“white stick”) in Spanish and has many common English names. The common name “hackberry” is a reference to the peeling bark of mature trees, which from a distance gives the appearance of having been chopped or “hacked” with an axe. The “hacked” appearance varies in this species, with trunks sometimes appearing smooth and gray. Another common name, “sugarberry”, is based on a characteristic some people favor: The berries have no taste other than sweet.
The leaves of sugarberry are also considered sweet. During any heatwave, it is not unusual to see dogs, and occasionally humans, chew a few hackberry leaves as an energizing snack. The leaves are high in antioxidants, according to website survival-manual.com .
Hackberry bark has traditionally been used in medicinal compounds by Houma Native Americans to treat sore throat. Houma and Iroquois medicine to treat sexually-transmitted diseases also included hackberry bark; as did Iroquois medicine to promote menstruation. Website survival-manual.com states that hackberry milk or energy bars can be made from hackberry paste by grinding the entire berries (including the hard seeds, which contain fat and protein).
Celtis laevigata is the larval host of Asterocampa celtis “Hackberry Emperor” butterflies.
It is particularly important not to plant turfgrass under this tree, but to have some native understory plants and leave the autumn leaf fall to fertilize the ground because butterfly caterpillars use fallen hackberry leaves as their winter shelter. Removing the leaves will kill the next generation of butterflies.
Celtis laevigata bark often rots when injured by a person using a lawnmower or weed-trimmer; or by improper pruning near the trunk; making it all the more important not to grow turfgrass near the tree.
Even in highly-compacted soils, mature trees provide graceful beauty and plentiful shade during the hottest months when allowed to grow naturally to form. Pruning to eliminate weak branches during its early years will promote tree health and longevity.
Celtis laevigata is a member of the elm family and hackberry genus. The soft and yellow-tinged wood is used primarily in furniture, plywood, athletic equipment, fencing; also as firewood and to build coops; and any use of wood from the elm family.
Celtis laevigata is native to the Eastern Seaboard as far north as Maryland. Its native range extends west to Texas and south to Mexico. Celtis laevigata is found in wetter climates than Celtis ehrenbergiana, which is also native to Texas. The importance of cultivating Celtis laevigata is emphasized by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences: “The tiny, berry-like, sweet fruits attract many birds, and sugarberry should be included in any natural landscape setting.”
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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: cywinski
