BRIT Collections
Botanical Research Institute of Texas | Fort Worth Botanic Garden
Plant specimen (2018-06-01) by M. B. Byerley (no. 520) and Ashley BordelonBRIT Collections
Often dismissed as a "trash tree," the Hackberry (Celtis genus) is an ecological powerhouse. While it may not win beauty contests, it plays a crucial role in supporting wildlife, offering food and shelter to countless species.
Plant specimen (2021-07-01) by Natch RodriguezBRIT Collections
The Hackberry (Celtis genus) is a deciduous tree known for its warty bark, long ovate leaves, and small, pea-sized fruits. Native to North America, it thrives in a variety of environments—from riverbanks to urban landscapes—making it a hardy survivor.
Plant specimen (2018-06-01) by M. B. Byerley (no. 520) and Ashley BordelonBRIT Collections
Note the long smooth ovate shape of the Celtis leaves which is typical of the hackberry genus.
Hackberry fruits are "drupe" fruits, like a peach or plum, with an outer skin, inner flesh, and an inner hardened stoney layer surrounding a single seed.
The small, pea-sized fruits of the Celtis or hackberry genus start as green and usually ripen to a reddish color. According to the Missouri Botanical Garden, they are considered edible and sweet to humans.
Humans aren't the only ones who benefit from hackberry fruits. Many species of birds rely on these fruits, including migratory birds like robins and cedar waxwings . The fruits, which ripen in the autumn , do not rot while hanging on the tree and so are also a ready supply of food throughout the winter for birds such as yellow-bellied sapsuckers, wild turkeys, and northern mockingbirds.
Plant specimen (2021-07-03) by iNaturalist PolylepisBRIT Collections
Hackberries are a host plant for six species of butterflies, meaning these butterflies will only lay their eggs on hackberry trees.
Among these are the tawny emperor, hackberry emperor, and question mark butterfly, as well as the comma butterfly, American snout, and mourning cloak.
Plant specimen (2021-07-01) by Natch RodriguezBRIT Collections
After a newly hatched nymph starts feeding on a leaf, the leaf forms an unusual but protective growth around the nymph. Eventually an adult psyllid emerges from the gall in early autumn.
Plant specimen (2021-04-19) by iNaturalist VcharnyBRIT Collections
There are four species in the genus Pachypsylla, and each forms a type of gall (protective growth) on the hackberry tree.
Pachypsylla venusta, or the hackberry petiole gall psyllid, is another member of the Pachypsylla genus.
It creates round large woody galls on the petiole of the leaves (the stalks that join the end of a leaf to a stem).
Hackberry galls
This is a mounted specimen of Celtis laevigata with examples of the blister gall, the petiole gall, and the nipple gall.
This specimen (BRIT50715) was collected from a park in Tarrant County, Texas, USA, near the intersection of Highway 121 and Interstate Highway 35W.
Hackberry branches
A beautiful mature hackberry in all its summer splendor.
Story created by Philecology Herbarium, Botanical Research Institute of Texas and Fort Worth Botanic Garden.
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