Celtis sinensis

Chinese hackberry

Family: Cannabaceae · Type: tree · Not Native

Chinese hackberry is a naturalized tree found in northern Sierra Nevada foothills, southern Central Valley, and southern California Coast Ranges in riparian woodlands and alkaline grasslands at elevations of 15 to 600 meters. Flowering from February to April, this tree produces small, inconspicuous flowers with subtle green to yellowish tones. Growing up to 20 meters tall with a flexible, spreading form, it develops a sturdy trunk and broad canopy. Its leaves are distinctive, with large ovate blades 30 to 100 millimeters long, featuring slightly toothed edges on the upper half and smooth surfaces with raised veins, with the underside showing delicate hairiness along the leaf veins. The tree produces small brown-orange fruits approximately 5 to 7 millimeters in diameter, borne on short 4 to 10 millimeter pedicels.

Habitat: Riparian woodland, alkaline grassland

Bloom period: Feb-Apr

Elevation: 15-600 m

Bioregions: n SNF, ScV, SCo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.