Celtis reticulata Seeds | Netleaf Hackberry

Netleaf hackberry with corky ridged bark and small orange-red berries — Netleaf Hackberry (*Celtis reticulata*): Cannabaceae, dry hills and canyons of the western United States and northern Mexico.

LATIN NAME: Celtis reticulata

COMMON NAME: Netleaf Hackberry

Plant Profile

Netleaf hackberry is a small deciduous tree of the dry hills and canyons of the western United States, growing six to nine metres with a short, often crooked trunk and a wide, irregular crown. Its bark is grey and covered in corky ridges and warts, and its leaves are small, rough, net-veined and toothed, with a lopsided base. In spring it carries inconspicuous green flowers, and in autumn small, round berries that turn orange-red and stay on the tree into winter, when they are eaten by birds. The tree grows on rocky slopes, in canyon bottoms and along streams, from Texas to California and south into Mexico, and it is one of the toughest deciduous trees of the region, surviving drought, heat, wind and poor, rocky soil.

Science & Biotechnology

Celtis reticulata is one of the hackberries, a genus in the hemp family that was long placed in its own family and then moved on molecular evidence. The species is variable across its range, and some botanists treat the western populations as part of a complex that includes Celtis laevigata and Celtis occidentalis, which makes identification in the field difficult. Its net-veined leaves are a useful character, as is the corky bark, which is thought to protect the trunk from sunburn and from temperature extremes. The berries are eaten by many birds, including robins, waxwings and flickers, which disperse the seed, and the tree is a larval host for several butterflies, including the hackberry emperor. It is also tolerant of alkaline soil and of drought, which makes it valuable in a region where few trees thrive.

Uses & Benefits

The tree is planted as a shade tree for dry, alkaline sites, as a street tree in the Southwest and as a wildlife tree in a native garden. Its wood is soft and not commercial, though it is used locally for fence posts and fuel. The berries are sweet and edible, though the flesh is thin and the seed large, and they were eaten by Native American groups in the region. The bark was used for fibre and for medicine. In the garden it is a good tree for a hot, windy site where other shade trees fail, and it casts a light shade that lets grass grow beneath. It is not a tidy tree, and it suckers and sprouts from the base, so it needs some management.

Growing from Seed

Clean the flesh from the berries and stratify the seed at four degrees for three months. Sow one centimetre deep in a loam and grit mix at eighteen degrees; germination takes four to eight weeks and can be uneven. The seedling grows slowly at first, then steadily, and it develops a deep root system, so plant it out young. Choose a site in full sun with well-drained, preferably alkaline soil, and water through the first two summers. Mulch with gravel rather than compost. Prune in winter to remove lower branches and to control suckers. The tree flowers and fruits from about the fifth year, and the berries are best left for the birds.

Our Take

A tough western hackberry with corky bark and orange berries for the birds. It grows where other shade trees give up.

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