Sugarberry (Celtis laevigata)

The sugarberry is also known as sugar hackberry, hackberry, and Mississippi hackberry. Sugarberry is can be easily recognized by its bark which is covered with wart-like bumps.

The berries secrete a sweet sticky substance in the autumn that attracts millions of mealy-bugs. The mealy-bugs engorge themselves with the secretions and produce a dew-like substance of saccharine sweetness known as ghost rain. Many songbirds eat the sweetish fruits and help disperse the seeds.

Twigs and leaves

The wood is used mainly for furniture, athletic goods, crates, and plywood.

This member of the Ulmaceae family is found from the southeastern Virginia to southern Florida, west to southwestern Texas and northeastern Mexico, and north to central Illinois. This species is also found in the northeastern areas of Mexico. It is found at elevations up to 2,000'.

Identifying Characteristics

Size/Form:

The sugarberry is a medium sized tree that reaches 60' to 80' in height. It characteristically has having a broad, rounded, and open crown with spreading or slightly drooping branches.

Leaves:

The deciduous leaves are alternately arranged and 2" to 5" long. Each leaf is light green with a rough or smooth texture above and somewhat paler and smooth below. Leaf margins may be slightly serrate or entire.

Fruit:

The fruit is a one-seeded drupe and may be orange or yellowish in color. Each fruit is found on short stalks at the base of the leaf.

Bark:

The bark on the sugarberry tree is light gray, thin and smooth with prominent corky wart-like structures on the outer bark.

Habitat:

Sugarberry grows in moist soils on river flood plains. This unique tree may occur in pure stands but is usually found growing with other hardwoods.

Acknowledgements: The development of this site was funded by the Florida 4-H Foundation and the School of Forest Resources and Conservation at the University of Florida.

Contact Information

Email: LVK@ifas.ufl.edu