Pteroceltis tatarinowii Seeds | Tatar Wingceltis
LATIN NAME: Pteroceltis tatarinowii
COMMON NAME: Tatar Wingceltis
Plant Profile
Most tree genera are crowds; Pteroceltis is a party of one. The genus holds a single species, and that species has changed families: long kept in the elm family, Ulmaceae, it now sits in Cannabaceae alongside the hackberries, hops and hemp. The papery wing that circles its fruit gave the tree both its name and its place in that argument, since no other member of the family carries a fruit quite like it.
The leaves are ovate and sharply toothed, set alternately along the shoot, with three main veins springing from the base rather than one midrib, the pattern botanists call triplinerved. The upper surface is rough to the touch because the tissue is packed with cystoliths, small concretions of calcium carbonate hanging from the cell walls. Rubbed between the fingers, that sandpaper feel points straight at this family.
Flowers open in early spring before the leaves, and the sexes are arranged along the same shoot: male flowers in small clusters at the lower nodes, female flowers solitary in the upper leaf axils. Pollen travels on the wind. The fruit that follows is a small round drupe with a broad membranous wing, papery to the touch, spinning away from the parent tree on autumn gusts.
The species is a calcicole. It grows on limestone cliffs and in dry gorges, rooting into crevices with almost no soil, tolerating drought and thin ground that would kill most broadleaved trees. Its deep roots and its ability to regrow from a cut stump make it a fixture of rocky slopes from the Loess Plateau south, and a useful tree for holding such ground together.
Science & Biotechnology
The process is straightforward chemistry. Branches are steamed to loosen the inner bark, which is stripped, soaked in lime water and bleached in sunlight before being beaten to pulp. The fibre is mostly cellulose, with hemicellulose and a little lignin cementing the bundles, and the beating step controls how the fibres interlock into a sheet. Long fibre and a slow beat together give a paper that holds its shape when wet and takes ink without spreading it.
Because the genus has one species and a fragmented range, it has become a subject for phylogeography. Plastid genomes have been sequenced to trace how populations separated by mountain ridges differ, and the results point to long isolation between eastern and western groups. That matters for conservation, because a single-species genus has no close relative to fall back on.
Uses & Benefits
Between the outer bark and the wood lies a tough fibrous tissue that has been stripped and beaten into paper in Anhui and neighbouring provinces for centuries. The fibre is long and flexible, and paper made from it is prized for holding its strength over long use and for resisting insect damage. The best-known sheets blend this bark fibre with a straw pulp, which gives them softness and a warm tone.
Plant winged celtis on shallow dry ground over limestone. Its wood is hard and pale and takes a fine finish, so it has gone into furniture, tool handles and small turned goods, and the tree makes an unusual bonsai with its small leaves and willingness to ramify after pruning. On a bank or a rock slope it earns its keep as a soil holder, and its tolerance of drought and lime suits it to the hottest, stoniest corner of a garden. Wild stands are often cut for firewood, which is one reason old specimens are scarce.
Growing from Seed
Sow the winged fruits in a deep container of two parts loam, one part coarse sand and one part crushed limestone grit, pressing each fruit just below the surface. Keep the pan outdoors through winter in a shaded frame so the seed goes through cold and damp, and cover it with wire mesh, because rodents work through a bed quickly.
Keep the seedlings evenly moist through their first season, then move them into deep pots once they have made three or four true leaves. Water less in the second year to harden them, and plant out when the plants are knee high. Once established, water only in severe drought. Pinch the leading shoots in the first years to build a bushy frame, and prune in late winter before growth restarts.
Our Take
Winged celtis is a tree for awkward ground, and it has good company there. Celtis sinensis is the common hackberry of the same family and takes similar abuse, while Celtis bungeana stays smaller and works in a tight space. Zelkova sinica, listed as Chinese zelkova, grows on the same limestone slopes and makes a fine contrasting trunk.
Related Reading
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