Part 19

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades ovate or broadly lance-shaped, long-pointed at the tip, rounded or tapering at the asymmetrical base, up to 6 inches long and up to half as broad, usually coarsely toothed along the edges except sometimes near the base, smooth or more often rough-hairy on one or both surfaces; leafstalks up to 1 inch long, smooth or hairy.

Flowers: Arranged in drooping clusters, or sometimes solitary, appearing after the leaves are partly grown, greenish-yellow, without petals.

Fruit: Fleshy, nearly round, dark purple, about ⅓ inch in diameter, with 1 seed, ripening in September and October, borne on slender, drooping stalks.

Wood: Heavy, soft, close-grained, pale yellow.

Uses: Fence posts, furniture.

Habitat: Low woodlands.

Range: Massachusetts across to Manitoba and South Dakota, southern Oklahoma, Alabama, and Virginia.

Distinguishing Features: Hackberry leaves resemble those of some elms, but have 3 main veins arising from the base of the blade. This Hackberry differs from other hackberries in Illinois by its larger, usually coarsely toothed leaves and its larger, dark purple fruits.

DWARF HACKBERRY Celtis tenuifolia Nutt.

Growth Form: Small tree to 25 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 10 inches; crown irregular, with numerous slender branchlets.

Bark: Gray, smooth on young trees and soon bearing “warts,” becoming rough and scaly on old trees.

Twigs: Slender, green to reddish-brown, smooth at maturity; leaf scars alternate, crescent-shaped, with 3 bundle traces.

Buds: Slender, oval, pointed, grayish-brown, finely hairy, up to ⅛ inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades ovate, pointed at the tip, rounded or somewhat heart-shaped at the base, up to 3 inches long, often at least half as broad, with a few coarse teeth along the edges, or sometimes lacking teeth, often leathery, smooth or hairy on one or both surfaces; leafstalks up to ½ inch long, smooth or hairy.

Flowers: One or a few in drooping clusters, appearing after the leaves are partly grown, finely hairy, greenish-yellow, without petals.

Fruit: Fleshy, spherical, reddish-purple, up to ½ inch in diameter, 1-seeded, ripening September and October.

Wood: Heavy, close-grained, yellowish.

Use: Fence posts.

Habitat: Edge of bluffs, woods.

Range: New Jersey across to Illinois and Kansas, south to Oklahoma, Louisiana, and northern Florida.

Distinguishing Features: This small tree is extremely variable in that its leaves may or may not have teeth, they may or may not be hairy, and they may or may not be leathery. It differs from the Sugarberry primarily by its broader leaves and from the Common Hackberry by its smaller fruits and usually less-toothed leaves.

REDBUD Cercis canadensis L.

Growth Form: Small tree to 35 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 1 foot; crown usually broad and flattened.

Bark: Reddish-brown, separating into long plates and thin scales.

Twigs: Slender, zigzag, smooth, angular, brown; leaf scars alternate, somewhat elevated, triangular, hairy across the top, with 3 bundle traces.

Buds: Small, rounded, chestnut-brown, smooth or nearly so.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades heart-shaped, contracted to a short point at the tip, up to 6 inches long and nearly as broad, smooth on the upper surface, smooth or with some hairs on the lower surface, without teeth along the edges; leafstalks slender, up to 5 inches long, usually smooth.

Flowers: In small clusters on last year’s branches or on the trunks, rose-purple, each pea-shaped, about ½ inch long, appearing when the leaves are first beginning to unfold.