Hackberry

Celtis is a genus of about 60–70 species of deciduous trees, commonly known as hackberries or nettle trees, in the hemp family Cannabaceae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution.

Description

Celtis species are generally medium-sized trees, reaching 10–25 metres (33–82 feet) tall, rarely up to 40 m (130 ft) tall. The leaves are alternate, simple, 3–15 centimetres (1+1⁄4–6 inches) long, ovate-acuminate, and evenly serrated margins. Diagnostically, Celtis can be very similar to trees in the Rosaceae and other rose motif families.^{[citation needed]}

Small flowers of this monoecious plant appear in early spring while the leaves are still developing. Male flowers are longer and hairy. Female flowers are greenish and more rounded.^{[citation needed]}

The fruit is a small drupe 6–10 millimetres (1⁄4–3⁄8 in) in diameter, edible in many species, with a dryish but sweet, sugary consistency, reminiscent of a date.^{[citation needed]}

Taxonomy

Previously included either in the elm family (Ulmaceae) or a separate family, Celtidaceae, the APG III system places Celtis in an expanded hemp family (Cannabaceae).^[2]^[3]

Phylogeny

Members of the genus are present in the fossil record as early as the Miocene of Europe, and Paleocene of North America and eastern Asia.^[4]^[5]

Etymology

The derivation of the name of this genus, Celtis, is from a Latin word for an unrelated plant, the "lotus tree" of North Africa. The word was applied to this taxon by Linnaeus for unknown reasons.^[6]^[7]

Species

As of July 2024, the following 68 species are accepted by Plants of the World Online.^[1]

Celtis adolfi-friderici Engl. – western and central Africa
Celtis africana Burm.f. – Afromontane region, Madagascar
Celtis australis L. – Mediterranean Basin
Celtis balansae Planch. – New Caledonia, Australia
Celtis berteroana Urb. – Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica
Celtis bifida Leroy – Madagascar
Celtis biondii Pamp. – China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan
Celtis boninensis Koidz. – Japan
Celtis brasiliensis (Gardner) Planch. – South America
Celtis bungeana L. – China, Korea
Celtis caucasica L. – Turkey, Central Asia to Assam
Celtis caudata Planch. – Mexico and Central America
Celtis cerasifera C.K.Schneid. – central and southern China, southeastern Tibet, and northern Myanmar
Celtis chekiangensis C.C.Cheng – eastern China
Celtis chichape (Wedd.) Miq. – Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina, and southern Brazil
Celtis clausseniana Wedd. Miq. – Brazil
Celtis conferta Planch. – New Caledonia
Celtis eriocarpa Decne. – Pakistan, western Himalaya
Celtis flavovenarum Zamengo – Brazil
Celtis flumeniana Zamengo – Brazil
Celtis fluminensis Carauta – Brazil
Celtis glabrata Steven ex Planch. – eastern Europe and western Asia
Celtis harperi Horne ex Baker – SW Pacific
Celtis hildebrandii Soepadmo – Maluku to Solomon Islands
Celtis hypoleuca Planch. – New Caledonia, Australia
Celtis iguanaea (Jacq.) Sarg. – Florida, Mexico, Caribbean, Central and South America
Celtis jamaicensis Planch. – Jamaica
Celtis jessoensis Koidz. – Japan & Korea
Celtis julianae C.K.Schneid. – China
Celtis koraiensis L. – E. China to Korea
Celtis laevigata Willd. – central & southeast US, Mexico
Celtis latifolia (Blume) Planch. – Philippines, Maluku to Santa Cruz Islands
Celtis lindheimeri Engelm. ex K.Koch – Texas, Mexico
Celtis loxensis C.C.Berg – Ecuador, N. Peru
Celtis luzonica Warb. – Philippines
Celtis madagascariensis Sattarian – Madagascar
Celtis mauritiana Planch. – tropical Africa and western Indian Ocean
Celtis mildbraedii Engl. – tropical Africa and Madagascar
Celtis neglecta Zi L.Chen & X.F.Jin – China (Zhejiang)
Celtis occidentalis L. – eastern North America
Celtis orthocanthos Planch. – Brazil
Celtis pacifica Planch. – south central Pacific
Celtis pallida Torr. – southwestern US, northern Mexico
Celtis paniculata (Endl.) Planch. – eastern Malesia, eastern Australia, Micronesia, western Polynesia
Celtis petenensis Lundell – Guatemala
Celtis philippensis Planch. – tropical & subtropical Asia to N. Australia
Celtis prantlii Priemer ex Engl. – west & central tropical Africa
Celtis punctata (Urb. & Ekman) Urb. & Ekman – Haiti
Celtis reticulata Torr. – western North America
Celtis rigescens (Miq.) Planch. – Malesia, Papuasia
Celtis rubrovenia Elmer – Philippines, Papuasia
Celtis salomonensis Rech. – Solomon Islands
Celtis serratissima Zamengo, R.B.Torres, Gaglioti & Romaniuc – Brazil
Celtis sinensis Pers. – China and Japan
Celtis spinosa Spreng. – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela
Celtis strychnoides Planch. – northern Australia
Celtis tala Gillet ex Planch. – South America
Celtis tenuifolia Nutt. – North America
Celtis tessmannii Rendle. – central Africa
Celtis tetrandra Roxb. – Pakistan to China and Malesia
Celtis tikalana Lundell – Guatemala
Celtis timorensis Span. – Indian Subcontinent to Malesia
Celtis toka (Forssk.) Hepper & J.R.I.Wood – western, north-central, and northeastern Africa
Celtis tournefortii L. – Balkan Peninsula to Iran
Celtis trinervia Lam. – southeast Mexico to Columbia
Celtis vandervoetiana C.K.Schneid. – southern China
Celtis vitiensis A.C.Sm. – Fiji
Celtis zenkeri Engl. – western, central, and eastern Africa

Removed from genus

Trema cannabina Lour. (as C. amboinensis Willd.)
Trema lamarckianum (Schult.) Blume (as C. lamarckiana Schult.)
Trema orientalis (L.) Blume (as C. guineensis Schumach. or C. orientalis L.)
Trema tomentosa (Roxb.) H.Hara (as C. aspera Brongn. or C. tomentosa Roxb.)^[8]

Distribution and habitat

The genus is widespread throughout tropical and temperate parts of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica.^[1]^[6]^[9]

Ecology

Some species, including common hackberry (C. occidentalis) and C. brasiliensis, are honey plants and a pollen source for honeybees of lesser importance.

Lepidoptera

Celtis species are used as food plants by the caterpillars of certain Lepidoptera. These include mainly brush-footed butterflies, most importantly the distinct genus Libythea (beak butterflies) and some Apaturinae (emperor butterflies):

Acytolepis puspa – common hedge blue, recorded on Chinese hackberry (C. sinensis)
Automeris io – Io moth, recorded on southern hackberry (C. laevigata)
Asterocampa celtis – hackberry butterfly or hackberry emperor
Libythea celtis – European beak
Libythea labdaca – African beak
Libythea lepita – common beak
Libythea myrrha – club beak, recorded on C. tetrandra^[10]^[11]
Libytheana carinenta – American snout or common snout butterfly
Nymphalis xanthomelas – scarce tortoiseshell, recorded on European hackberry (C. australis)
Sasakia charonda – great purple emperor, recorded on C. jessoensis and C. sinensis
A putative new taxon of the two-barred flasher (Astraptes fulgerator) cryptic species complex, provisionally called "CELT," has hitherto only been found on C. iguanaea.^[12]^[13]

Pathogens

The plant pathogenic basidiomycete fungus Perenniporia celtis was first described from a Celtis host plant. Some species of Celtis are threatened by habitat destruction.

Uses

Several species are grown as ornamental trees, valued for their drought tolerance. They are a regular feature of arboreta and botanical gardens, particularly in North America. Chinese hackberry (C. sinensis) is suited for bonsai culture; a magnificent specimen in Daegu-myeon is one of the natural monuments of South Korea.

The berries are generally edible when they ripen and fall.^[14] C. occidentalis fruit was used by the Omaha, eaten casually, as well as the Dakota people, who pounded them fine, seeds and all. The Pawnee used the pounded fruits in combination with fat and parched corn.^[15] The berries of C. douglasii are also edible, and were consumed by the Mescalero Apaches.^[16]

Hackberry wood is sometimes used in cabinetry and woodworking.^{[citation needed]}

Gallery

C. aetnensis with mature fruit
Caucasian hackberry (C. caucasica) with immature fruit
African hackberry (C. integrifolia)
Chinese hackberry (C. sinensis)
C. australis autumn leaves

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Celtis L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
^ Stevens, P.F., Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Cannabaceae
^ "Celtis". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
^ MacPhail, M. K., N. F. Alley, E. M. Truswell and I. R. K. Sluiter (1994). "Early Tertiary vegetation: evidence from spores and pollen." History of the Australian Vegetation: Cretaceous to Recent. Ed. Robert S. Hill. Cambridge University Press. pp. 189–261. ISBN 0521401976.Partially available on Google Books.
^ Manchester, S. R., Akhmetiev, M. A., & Kodrul, T. M. (2002). Leaves and fruits of Celtis aspera (Newberry) comb. nov. (Celtidaceae) from the Paleocene of North America and eastern Asia. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 163(5), 725-736.
^ ^a ^b Hewson, H.J. (2022). Kodela, P.G. (ed.). "Celtis". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
^ Cooper, Wendy; Cooper, William T. (June 2004). Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia: Nokomis Editions. p. 546. ISBN 978-0-9581742-1-3.
^ "GRIN Species Records of Celtis". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
^ "Celtis Linnaeus". Flora of China (eFloras). Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
^ Ravikanthachari, Nitin (April 2018). "Larval host plants of the butterflies of the Western Ghats, India". Research Gate.
^ Wahlberg, Niklas (October 2006). "Libythea myrrha Godart 1819". Tree of Life Web Project.
^ Brower, Andrew V.Z. (2006). Problems with DNA barcodes for species delimitation: ‘ten species’ of Astraptes fulgerator reassessed (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae). Systematics and Biodiversity 4(2): 127–132. doi:10.1017/S147720000500191X PDF fulltext
^ Hebert, P. D. N.; Penton, E. H.; Burns, J. M.; Janzen, D. H.; Hallwachs, W. (2004). "Ten species in one: DNA barcoding reveals cryptic species in the neotropical skipper butterfly Astraptes fulgerator". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 101 (41): 14812–14817. Bibcode:2004PNAS..10114812H. doi:10.1073/pnas.0406166101. PMC 522015. PMID 15465915. PDF fulltext Supporting Appendices
^ The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants. United States Department of the Army. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. 2009. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-60239-692-0. OCLC 277203364.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^ "Uses of plants by the Indians of the Missouri River region". Washington, Govt. print. off. 1919.
^ Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 472.

External links

Media related to Celtis at Wikimedia Commons
"Nettle Tree" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 422.

[POWO-1] "Celtis L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.

[APweb-2] Stevens, P.F., Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Cannabaceae

[3] "Celtis". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved February 12, 2012.

[4] MacPhail, M. K., N. F. Alley, E. M. Truswell and I. R. K. Sluiter (1994). "Early Tertiary vegetation: evidence from spores and pollen." History of the Australian Vegetation: Cretaceous to Recent. Ed. Robert S. Hill. Cambridge University Press. pp. 189–261. ISBN 0521401976.Partially available on Google Books.

[5] Manchester, S. R., Akhmetiev, M. A., & Kodrul, T. M. (2002). Leaves and fruits of Celtis aspera (Newberry) comb. nov. (Celtidaceae) from the Paleocene of North America and eastern Asia. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 163(5), 725-736.

[FOA-6] Hewson, H.J. (2022). Kodela, P.G. (ed.). "Celtis". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 25 July 2024.

[COOPER2-7] Cooper, Wendy; Cooper, William T. (June 2004). Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia: Nokomis Editions. p. 546. ISBN 978-0-9581742-1-3.

[GRINSpecies-8] "GRIN Species Records of Celtis". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2010-12-04.

[FOC-9] "Celtis Linnaeus". Flora of China (eFloras). Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved 25 July 2024.

[10] Ravikanthachari, Nitin (April 2018). "Larval host plants of the butterflies of the Western Ghats, India". Research Gate.

[11] Wahlberg, Niklas (October 2006). "Libythea myrrha Godart 1819". Tree of Life Web Project.

[12] Brower, Andrew V.Z. (2006). Problems with DNA barcodes for species delimitation: ‘ten species’ of Astraptes fulgerator reassessed (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae). Systematics and Biodiversity 4(2): 127–132. doi:10.1017/S147720000500191X PDF fulltext

[13] Hebert, P. D. N.; Penton, E. H.; Burns, J. M.; Janzen, D. H.; Hallwachs, W. (2004). "Ten species in one: DNA barcoding reveals cryptic species in the neotropical skipper butterfly Astraptes fulgerator". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 101 (41): 14812–14817. Bibcode:2004PNAS..10114812H. doi:10.1073/pnas.0406166101. PMC 522015. PMID 15465915. PDF fulltext Supporting Appendices

[14] The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants. United States Department of the Army. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. 2009. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-60239-692-0. OCLC 277203364.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

[15] "Uses of plants by the Indians of the Missouri River region". Washington, Govt. print. off. 1919.

[16] Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 472.

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