Plant Guide

Celtis laevigata Willd.
sugarberry
CELA

Summary
Duration	Perennial
Growth Habit	Tree, Shrub
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator	UPL, FACW

Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Spring and Summer
After Harvest Regrowth Rate
Bloat	None
C:N Ratio	High
Coppice Potential	No
Fall Conspicuous	Yes
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	Green
Flower Conspicuous	No
Foliage Color	Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Moderate
Foliage Porosity Winter	Porous
Foliage Texture	Medium
Fruit/Seed Color	Orange
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	No
Growth Form	Single Stem
Growth Rate	Rapid
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)	35
Height, Mature (feet)	80
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	No
Lifespan	Moderate
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation
Resprout Ability	Yes
Shape and Orientation	Erect
Toxicity	None

Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	No
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	None
CaCO3 Tolerance	Medium
Cold Stratification Required	Yes
Drought Tolerance	Low
Fertility Requirement	Medium
Fire Tolerance	Medium
Frost Free Days, Minimum	150
Hedge Tolerance	Low
Moisture Use	High
pH, Minimum	4.8
pH, Maximum	6.8
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum	170
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum	300
Precipitation, Minimum	20
Precipitation, Maximum	60
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	24
Salinity Tolerance	None
Shade Tolerance	Tolerant
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	-29

Reproduction
Bloom Period	Early Spring
Commercial Availability	Routinely Available
Fruit/Seed Abundance	High
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Summer
Fruit/Seed Period End	Fall
Fruit/Seed Persistence	Yes
Propagated by Bare Root	Yes
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	Yes
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	No
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	No
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	6000
Seed Spread Rate	Slow
Seedling Vigor	Medium
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	None

Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	No
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	No
Fuelwood Product	Medium
Lumber Product	Yes
Naval Store Product	Yes
Nursery Stock Product	Yes
Palatable Browse Animal	Low
Palatable Graze Animal
Palatable Human	No
Post Product	No
Protein Potential
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

Kingdom Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons

Subclass Hamamelididae

Order Urticales

Family Ulmaceae -- Elm family

Genus Celtis L. -- hackberry P

Species Celtis laevigata Willd. -- sugarberry P

Alternate Names

Texas sugarberry

Uses

Ethnobotanic: Sugarberry was used by a variety of Native American tribes. The Houma used a concentrate made from the bark to treat sore throats and a decoction made from the bark and ground up shells to treat venereal disease. The Comanche would beat the fruits of sugarberry to a pulp. The pulp was then mixed with animal fat, rolled into balls, and roasted in the fire for food. The Acoma, Navajo, and Tewa all consumed the berries for food. The Navajo boiled the leaves and branches to make dark brown and red dye for wool.

Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

Description

General: Elm Family (Ulmaceae). Sugarberry is a tree that can become up to 30 m tall and 1m in diameter. It has a broad crown formed by spreading branches, that are often drooped. The bark is light gray in color and can be smooth or covered with corky warts. The branchlets are covered with short hairs at first and eventually they become smooth. The leaves are alternated, simple, and slightly serrate. The leaves are 5 to 13 cm long and 3 to 5 cm wide. The lance-shaped leaves gradually taper to a point that is often curved. They are pale green on both the upper and lower surfaces with conspicuous veins. The flowers appear just before, or with the leaves in the spring. The drupes are subspherical and 5 to 8 mm in diameter. They have a thick skin and the pit surface has a netlike pattern. The drupes range in color from orange to reddish-brown and are attached by pedicels that are 6 to 15 mm long.

Distribution: For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

Habitat: Sugarberry is found growing in sandy loam or rocky soils along streams, in bottomlands, and in woodlands.

Adaptation

When sugarberry is top-killed by fire it will resprout from the root collar.

Establishment

Sugarberry can be propagated by seed and cuttings, planted in autumn. Sugarberry has no preference for a particular soil type.

Pests and Potential Problems

Grown in its native habitat and using local seed stock, sugarberry should not be prone to debilitating pests.

Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

These materials are readily available from commercial plant sources. Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone book under ”United States Government.” The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading “Department of Agriculture.”

References

Castetter, E.F. 1935. Ethnobiological studies in the American Southwest I. Uncultivated native plants used as sources of food. University of New Mexico Bulletin 4:1-44.

Carlson, G.G. & V.H. Jones 1940. Some notes on uses of plants by the Comanche Indians. Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters 25:517-542.

Correl, D.S. & M.C. Johnston 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. Texas Research Foundation, Renner, Texas. 1881 pp.

Elmore, F.H. 1944. Ethnobotany of the Navajo. University of New Mexico Press. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 136 pp.

Great Plains Flora Association 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 1392 pp.

Harlow, W.M., E.S. Harrar, J.W. Hardin, & F.M. White 1996. Textbook of dendrology. 8^th edition. McGraw-Hill Inc., New York, New York. 534pp.

Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium Staff 1976. Hortus Third. Macmillan Publishing Company. 1290 pp.

Moerman, D.E. 1998. Native American ethnobotany. Timber press, Portland, Oregon. 927 pp.

Moerman, D.E. 1999. Native American ethnobotany database: Foods, drugs, dyes and fibers of native North American peoples. The University of Michigan-Dearborn. https://www.umd.umich.edu/cgi-bin/herb.

Robbins, W.W., J.P. Harrington, & B. Freire-Marreco 1916. Ethnobotany of the Tewa Indians. Unites States Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 55. 124 pp.

Speck, F.G. 1941. A list of plant curative obtained from the Houma Indians of Louisiana. Primitive Man 14:49-75.

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. 2001.

https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/carill/index.html

Prepared By:

Matthew D. Hurteau

Formerly USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Environmental Horticulture Department, University of California, Davis, California

Species Coordinator:

M. Kat Anderson

USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, c/o Plant Science Department, University of California, Davis, California

Edited: 29jan03 jsp; 09jun03 ahv ; 01jun06 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>

Attribution: U.S. Department of Agriculture