Scientific Name: Celtis laevigata var. reticulata
Synonym: Celtis reticulata
Common Name: Netleaf Hackberry
Duration: Perennial, Deciduous
Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Upland, Riparian (desert)
Flower Color: Inconspicuous (greenish)
Flowering Season: Spring
Height: To 30 feet (9.1 m) tall
Description: The small, greenish flowers are followed by small, round, orange to reddish brown berries. The leaves have prominent veins and a rough, scratchy texture and are green, alternate, non-symmetrical (curved and lopsided), and lance-shaped. The bark is silvery gray, and with age, it becomes covered with strange, corky warts.
Allergenic – The pollen is a moderate allergen.
Butterfly Plant – Emperor butterfly caterpillars (Subfamily Apaturinae) feed on the leaves.
Culturally Significant Plant – Native Americans used the berries of C. laevigata for food, the bark for medicinal purposes, and the leaves to make wool dye.
Edible – The berries are sweet and edible either raw or cooked, but they are small and rather dry.
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Family: Ulmaceae – Elm family
Genus: Celtis L. – hackberry
Species: Celtis laevigata Willd. – sugarberry
Variety: Celtis laevigata Willd. var. reticulata (Torr.) L.D. Benson – netleaf hackberry
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