Celtis laevigata
Object Details
- Description
- The sugarberry is a fruiting tree that is similar to the northern hackberry. It is less resistant to cold than the northern hackberry, but it does have juicier and sweeter purple berries. The fruit, bark, and leaves were used by Native American tribes in the tree’s range for food and various medicinal and economic purposes.
- Hardiness
- -10 - 30 F
- Attracts
- Butterflies
- Bloom Time
- April to May
- Ethnobotanical Uses
- Comanche used a combination of berry pulp mixed with animal fat for food. Acoma, Navajo, and Tewa all used the berries for food. Navajo boiled leaves and branches to make a dark brown and red dye for wool.
- Medicinal / Pharmaceutical
- Houma used a concentrate made from the bark to treat sore throats and a decoction of bark and ground shells to treat venereal disease.
- Provenance
- Uncertain
- Data Source
- Smithsonian Gardens
- Accession Number
- 2011-1069A
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Life Form
- Deciduous tree
- Average Height
- 60-80'
- Bark Characteristics
- Light gray, smooth, or covered in wart-like bumps. Branchlets start covered in short hair, but become smooth.
- Bloom Characteristics
- Male flowers grow in clusters, and female flowers grow solitarily.
- Fall Color
- Yellow
- Foliage Characteristics
- Simple, alternate, lance-shaped with curved points and slightly serrated margins. 2-4" long.
- Fruit Characteristics
- Round, berry-like drupes mature to deep purple and contain one round, brown seed. Edible.
- Range
- Central to E. US; Mexico
- Habitat
- Riparian
- See more items in
- Smithsonian Gardens Tree Collection
- On Display
- National Museum of Natural History
- Common Name
- Sugarberry
- Southern Hackberry
- Sugar Hackberry
- Mississippi Hackberry
- Group
- [vascular plants]
- Class
- Equisetopsida
- Subclass
- Magnoliidae
- Superorder
- Rosanae
- Order
- Rosales
- Family
- Cannabaceae
- Genus
- Celtis
- Species
- laevigata
- Topic
- Trees
- Living Collections
- Record ID
- ofeo-sg_2011-1069A
