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Sugarberry, Southern Hackberry
Celtis laevigata
Ulmaceae


General Landscape Uses:

Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Alsol as an accent tree.

Ecological Restoration Notes:

An occasional element in hammocks, often associated with past aboriginal activity.
Availability:
Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida.
Description:
Medium to large tree with a broadly rounded crown. Trunk straight, 1-2 feet in diameter. Bark smooth with few or many warts. Leaves thin, 2-5 inches long. A temperate deciduous species.
Dimensions:
Typically 25-50 feet in height in South Florida; to 100 feet in Florida. Taller than broad.
Growth Rate:
Moderate to fast.
Range:
Eastern and central United States south to Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland; northeastern Mexico.
Habitats:
Swamps and humid forests.
Soils:
Moist, moderately well-drained to well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements:
Moderate to high; grows best with some organic content and may languish in nutrient poor soils.
Salt Water Tolerance:
Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance:
Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.
Drought Tolerance:
Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.
Light Requirements:
Light shade to full sun.
Flower Color:
Green.
Flower Characteristics:
Inconspicuous.
Flowering Season:
Spring.
Fruit:
Yellow to orange to red to dark purple fleshy drupe; late summer to fall. Edible, sweet.
Wildlife and Ecology:
Provides significant food and cover for wildlife. Birds and other animals readily eat the sweet fruits. Sole larval host plant for American snout (Libytheana carineta) in South Florida; also larval host for tawny emperor (Asterocampa clyton), question mark (Polygonia interrogationis) and hackberry emperor (Aterocampa celtis) butterflies.
Horticultural Notes:
Can be grown from seed, which should be sown as soon as the fruit is ripe.
Comments:
Common in some hammocks in South Florida, but missing in many others.


 


Shirley Denton
Shirley Denton