Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Hackberry?

I noticed an interesting tree in the extreme back right (Northeast) corner of the lot after removing the buckthorn and grape vines from around it. It has light colored, very sculpted bark. I thought at first it was a species of elm, because I had recently identified several smaller elms hidden amongst the invasives elsewhere on the lot.


Celtis occidentalis bark.

But the bark didn't really match any examples of elm that I could find. Eventually, I saw an example of hackberry bark and thought that it looked like the bark on our tree. So that's what I'm calling it for now.


Celtis occidentalis leaves.

One problem is that the literature describes fruit that ripens in the fall, and I haven't seen any fruit on this tree.


Possible galls on the hackberry tree leaves.

One potential plus for this identification is the apparent existence of galls on the leaves, which is said to be common with hackberry trees. If that is actually what these spots are, they were caused by jumping plant lice.

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