Post 62
Hackberry
Celtis occidentalis
LocationN39º28.XXX'
W088º24.XXX' |
Date PlantedNovember 14, 2012
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Special Note:
In earlier years, the tough, flexible wood of the hackberry tree was used for barrel hoops, and many a pioneer cabin was equipped with durable hackberry wood flooring. The tree was first cultivated in 1636.
This tree was donated and planted by the Lions Club of Mattoon, Illinois
Tree located at
Hawthorne Elementary School 2405 Champaign Avenue Mattoon, Illinois |
Tree DescriptionReaches a height of 50 to 90 feet; spreading or drooping branches forming a rounded crown; trunk has a diameter of 1 1/2 to 3 feet.
HabitatPrefers rich, moist soils, but often grows on rich, rocky hillsides, river valleys; also in mixed hardwood forests on upland slopes.
RangeFrom New Hampshire and southern Quebec to southern Manitoba, south to northern Georgia and eastern Texas.
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Leaf DescriptionSimple, alternate in two rows along twigs, simple, ovate in shape, from 2 to 4 inches wide, with long-pointed tips, sharp teeth above, but are entire towards the oblique base; shiny green above, usually smooth; paler below, often with hairy veins; turns yellow in fall.
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Bark DescriptionGrayish-brown or ashy-gray, at first smooth but becoming roughened with characteristic narrow corky ridges and warty or corky excrescences.
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Fruit DescriptionFlowers greenish; 1/8 inch wide; appearing at base of new leaves in early spring. Fruit ovoid drupes, about pea size, berrylike; orange-red to dark purple-black; 1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter; on a slender stalk, maturing in fall.
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