Celtis

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For the German Renaissance scholar, see Conrad Celtes. For the town, see Celtis, Missouri. For the tractor by CLAAS, see Claas Celtis. For the board game by Reiner Knizia, see Keltis.
Celtis
Chinese Hackberry (C. sinensis) leaves and fruit
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Subclass: Rosidae
(unranked): Eurosids I
Order: Rosales
Family: Cannabaceae
Genus: Celtis
L.
Species

Some 60-70 (see about 35 below)

Celtis (Hackberry) is a genus of about 60-70 species of deciduous trees widespread in warm temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, in southern Europe, southern and eastern Asia, and southern and central North America, south to central Africa, and South America. The genus is present in the fossil record at least since the Miocene of Europe.[1]

Previously included either in the elm family (Ulmaceae) or a separate family, Celtidaceae, the APG II system places Celtis in the hemp family (Cannabaceae). The generic name originated in Latin and was applied by Pliny the Elder (23-79) to the unrelated Ziziphus lotus.[2]

Contents

Description

Celtis species are generally medium-sized trees, reaching 10–25 m (33–82 ft) tall, rarely up to 40 m (130 ft) tall. The leaves are alternate, simple, 3–15 cm (1.2–5.9 in) long, ovate-acuminate, and evenly serrated margins.

Small monoecious flowers appear in early spring while the leaves are still developing. Male flowers are longer and fuzzy. Female flowers are greenish and more rounded.

The fruit is a small drupe 6–10 mm (0.24–0.39 in) in diameter, edible in many species, with a dryish but sweet, sugary consistency, reminiscent of a date.

Selected species

additional list source

[3] [4]

Uses and ecology

Several species are grown as ornamental trees, valued for their drought tolerance. They possess the most bending tolerance of all species of wood[citation needed]. They are a regular feature of arboretums and botanical gardens, particularly in North America. Chinese Hackberry (C. sinensis) is suited for bonsai culture, while a magnificent specimen in Daegu-myeon is one of the natural monuments of South Korea. Some, including Common Hackberry (C. occidentalis) and C. brasiliensis, are honey plants and pollen source for honeybees of lesser importance.

The berries, as mentioned above, are often eaten locally. The Korean tea gamro cha (감로차, 甘露茶) contains C. sinensis leaves.

Lepidopterae

Celtis species are used as foodplants by the caterpillars of certain Lepidoptera. These include mainly brush-footed butterflies, most importantly the distinct genus Libythea (beak butterflies) and some Apaturinae (emperor butterflies):

Common Beak (Libythea lepita) caterpillars like to feed on Celtis

Pathogens

The plant pathogenic basidiomycete fungus Perenniporia celtis was first described from a Celtis hostplant. Some species of Celtis are threatened by habitat destruction.

Gallery

Celtis aetnensis with mature fruit
Caucasian Hackberry (Celtis caucasica) with immature fruit
African Hackberry (Celtis integrifolia)
Chinese Hackberry (Celtis sinensis )

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Keeler (1900): pp.249-252[verification needed]
  2. ^ Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. I A-C. CRC Press. p. 468. ISBN 9780849326752. http://books.google.com/books?id=esMPU5DHEGgC&. 
  3. ^ "Celtis ehrenbergiana (Klotzsch) Liebm.". GRIN. USDA. 2002-01-10. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?418705. Retrieved April 16, 2009. 
  4. ^ "Celtis sinensis Pers.". GRIN. USDA. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?9781. Retrieved July 2, 2009. 
  5. ^ Hébert et al. (2004), Brower et al. (2006)

References

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