Twiggy branches of a mature hackberry tree
Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) is a tree that's quite easy to identify in winter. If you learn to recognize its amooth-but-warty bark and its extremely twiggy silhouette, you can name this tree with confidence.
Celtis occidentalis, the common hackberry, grows in most of the United States except for the states west of the Rocky Mountains (Those states have other varieties of hackberry trees.) It produces small berries (actually, drupes) that are eaten by a wide variety of wildlife. Because of the sweetness of the berries, one of hackberry's common names is "sugarberry".
This tree grows on the grounds of St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. It's a very large tree. I am fond of it.
"The power to recognize trees at a glance without examining their leaves or flowers or fruit as they are seen, for example, from the car-window during a railroad journey, can only be acquired by studying them as they grow under all possible conditions over wide areas of territory. Such an attainment may not have much practical value, but once acquired it gives to the possessor a good deal of pleasure which is denied to less fortunate travelers."
2 comments -- please add yours:
I like your trees. I was led to this blog by looking up persimmon trees. I have a couple nice photos of a raccoon, and a possom at night in our persimmon tree
http://beyondmygarden.blogspot.com/
Thanks for your tree info.
I was looking for photos of Hackberry trees. My girlfriends home in South Minneapolis had, according to neighbors, the largest Hackberry tree in Minnesota. It fell in the recent storms we had. It's trunk was at least 4ft in diameter and at least 80ft tall. It was sad to see it go.
Post a Comment