LEAVES: Alternate, simple, 2″-4″ long, tip slender-pointed, margins toothed except near the rounded unequal base, rough upper surface, prominent veins beneath, leaf stem slightly hairy and grooved.
TWIGS: Slender, somewhat shiny, brownish with raised lenticels, pith white, chambered. Buds small, sharp-pointed, closely pressed to the twig.
FRUIT: Resembles a dark purple cherry, ¼”-½” in diameter on a long slender stem, sweet but thin flesh covering the pit, matures in autumn.
BARK: Grayish brown typically rough with warty projections or irregular ridges.
GENERAL: A small tree 20′-35′ high, larger in southern Pennsylvania on moist limestone soils. Hackberry often displays a disease that causes clusters of short, dense branches called “witches brooms”. A second, smaller species, Celtis tenuifolia Nutt., Dwarf Hackberry, is found on dry slopes in southeastern Pennsylvania. Fruits of both species are an important wildlife food. The wood is used for furniture, boxes and containers but not in large quantity.
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