Netleaf Hackberry

Netleaf hackberry (Celtis reticulata, Cannabaceae) is a native broadleaf tree or large shrub found from southern Nebraska and Kansas south through Texas and northern Mexico, west to southern California, and north through Washington and Oregon into Idaho. It typically grows as a small tree 20 to 30 feet tall (occasionally 50 to 70 feet), with a slow-growing, often spreading, somewhat scraggly form. Leaves display a distinctive reticulate vein network on the underside. Small greenish flowers appear at the leaf base in early spring, followed by reddish-brown to purple globose fruit with thin but sweet pulp.

Netleaf hackberry grows in full sun on well-drained soils from dry to moist, acidic or alkaline, rocky to loam, hardy in Zones 4a to 8b. It develops a strong taproot with many shallow lateral roots and requires no supplemental water once established. The species readily hybridizes with sugarberry (C. laevigata) where ranges overlap. It is susceptible to nipple gall. No cultivars are documented. The berries have been documented as a food source for indigenous peoples.