306 TREES OF MINNESOTA. 
Genus CELTIS. 
Leaves alternate, simple, short petioled. Flowers monoe- 
ciously polygamous, appearing in the axils of the leaves of the 
season: the staminate in little clusters or racemes; the perfect 
flowers solitary or in pairs, peduncled; styles two. Fruit a 
globular drupe; embryo curved, nearly inclosing a little gela- 
tinous albumen. Only one species in the Northern States of 
interest to us here. 
Celtis occidentalis. Hackberry. Sugarberry. Nettle 
Tree 
Leaves quite various, but usually ovate to ovate-lancelate, 
sharply and coarsely serrate or sparingly so, taper-pointed, more 
or less rough above and unusually soft pubescent beneath, at 
least when young. Flowers appear in April and May, solitary, 
small, white, on rather long peduncles. Fruit a small, solitary, 
round, sweet edible drupe, reddish or yellowish, turning a dark 
purple when fully matured, remaining on tree into the winter; 
peduncle twice the length of the petioles. Generally a small, 
but sometimes a large tree over 100 feet high and two or 
three feet in diameter. The tree resembles the White Elm, 
but the branches come out more at right angles and the bark 
is rougher and more closely divided than that of the White Elm. 
Distribution.—From Montreal west to Lake of the Woods and 
North Dakota, and south to Florida and eastern Texas. West 
of the Rocky Mountains it is rare, but occurs on banks of 
streams. It has been found in Idaho, Washington, Oregon. 
Nevada, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. In Minnesota fre- 
quent in the southern half of the state, and not uncommon in 
the valley of the Red River even near the extreme northern 
limit of the state. 
Propagation—Easily grown from seeds, which should be 
sown as soon as ripe or stratified over winter and sown in the 
spring. 
Propertics of wood.—Heavy, rather soit, not strong, coarse 
grained, dark or light brown, with thick, light colored, often 
yellowish, sapwood. Specific gravity 0.7287; weight of a cubic 
foot 45.41 pounds. 
Uses —The Hackberry is of rapid growth, and is one of the 
best trees for general park, lawn and prairie planting here. 
