Hoyt Arboretum, Portland, Oregon, USA

Common name: Common Hackberry, hackberry, micocoulier occidental, western hackberry

Family: Cannabaceae

Distribution: Central & northeastern North America

Habitat: Forest, in-land wetlands below 1800m

IUCN Red list: Least concern

Hardiness: Zone 2b -45 to -40 F

Life form: Deciduous tree

Usage: Ornamental

Comments: Common hackberry is a medium to large sized deciduous tree that typically grows 40-60’ tall with upright-arching branching and a rounded spreading crown. Trunk diameter ranges from 1-3’. Mature gray bark develops corky ridges and warty texture. Insignificant, mostly monoecious, greenish flowers appear in spring, with male flowers in clusters and female flowers solitary. Female flowers give way to an often abundant fruit crop of round fleshy berry-like drupes maturing to deep purple. Each drupe has one round brown seed within. Fruits are attractive to a variety of wildlife. Birds consume the fruits and disperse the seeds. Fleshy parts of the fruit are edible and somewhat sweet. Ovate to oblong-ovate, rough-textured, glossy to dull green leaves 2-5” long have mostly uneven leaf bases and are coarsely toothed from midleaf to acuminate tip.
Best grown in moist, organically rich, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates part shade. Also tolerates wind, many urban pollutants and a wide range of soil conditions, including both wet, dry and poor soils.