×  Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)

Family: Elm (Ulma­ceae)

Common Names: Common Hack­ber­ry, North­ern Hack­ber­ry, Amer­ican Hack­ber­ry, Mis­sis­sip­pi Hack­ber­ry, Su­gar­ber­ry, Su­gar Hack­ber­ry, Net­tle­tree, Bea­verwood.

The Hackberry easily grows to 130 feet tall by 60 feet wide when found growing in the open, often with a single trunk that quickly branches into several spreading huge branches that form an ascending or spreading canopy.

Hackberry is a member of the elm family and is closely related to Su­gar­ber­ry (Cel­tis lae­vi­gata). The two woods are virtually identical and frequently marketed together as "hack­ber­ry". There is little difference between sap­wood and heart­wood. Both are yellowish grey to light brown with yellow streaks. The wood has irregular grain: sometimes straight and sometimes interlocked, with a fine uniform texture. Heavy but soft, the wood is of limited commercial importance.

Historically, South­ern church pews were made of hack­ber­ry. Good grades of hack­ber­ry wood are used for furniture, mill­work, ath­le­tic equip­ment, kitch­en cabinets, doors and mould­ings. Poor grades are used for crates, boxes and bar­rel staves.

The soft, close-grain wood mills smoothly and machines easily. The wood planes and turns well and has a moderate ability to hold nails and screws. Hack­ber­ry dries readily with minimal degrade. It has a fairly high shrinkage and is most suitable in small, short pieces of cut stock. Stains satisfactorily.