Biorepository Data Portal

PLANT: Unarmed large shrubs or small trees to ca. 15 m tall in AZ; trunks to 5 dm in diameter; bark gray, smooth, but in age with corky vertical ridges and/or ring shaped bumps. LEAVES: deciduous, highly variable; blades ovate to lanceolate, asymmetrical, (1 )2 9.5 cm long, (0.6 )2 5 cm wide, gray green above, yellow green below, often leathery, consistently bearing insect galls, the base asymmetrical and rounded to cordate, the apex usually acuminate to acute; margins entire or serrate on the distal ¾, the base nearly always entire; veins reticulate, the basal set of axils with dense tufts of hair; surfaces harshly scabrous to almost smooth, the abaxial hairs mostly on veins with those between veins very few, mostly erect, weakly pustular. DRUPES: spherical, orange to red, 6 8 mm in diameter, on pedicels (3 )7 20 mm long. NOTES: Usually in riparian and other wet areas: All AZ cos. except Navajo and Yuma; 600 1700( 2050) m [2000 5500( 6700) ft]; Mar Apr (fr. Aug Oct and persisting after leaves); WA and KS s to n Mex. The Navajo Kayenta used C. reticulata to treat indigestion. Vegetative specimens of Morus microphylla (Moraceae) are commonly misidentified as C. reticulata. The former can be distin¬guished by its having leaves without galls; hairs of the lower surfaces between the veins very numerous, strongly pustular, antrorse; and basal leaf margins serrate. REFERENCES: Brasher, Jeffrey W. 2003. Ulmaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 35(2).

Heil et al 2013, VPAP (Brasher 2003), FNA 1997

Common Name: netleaf hackberry Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Tree Wetland Status: FAC General: Deciduous tree or large shrub, up to 8 m tall, with a rounded crown; bark is gray to whitish, with large corky warts on trunk. Leaves: Alternate and two-ranked along the twigs, on petioles 3-8 mm long; blades ovate, 3-6 cm long, with an asymmetrical base; blade texture is thick, firm, and slightly sandpapery, with 3 primary veins and numerous reticulate cross veins. Flowers: Inconspicuous, small, and greenish, with male and female flowers on the same tree. Fruits: Orange-red drupe (single-seeded cherry-like fruit) 6 mm diameter, mildly sweet but dry when mature. Ecology: Found along streams and rocky canyons, from 1,000-7,500 ft (305-2286 m); flowers March-May. Distribution: WA, OR, and CA, east to KS, OK, and TX Notes: A tree or large shrub distinguished by its rough-hairy, stiff leaves that feel like sandpaper when you rub towards the base, have an elongate heart-shape that is asymetrical at the base, and reticulate venation on the lower leaf surface; corky warts on the gray bark; orange berries; and is commonly infected with witches brooms and insect galls. Look for it on the high terraces associated with perennial rivers, especially at the middle elevation in the Southwest. Ethnobotany: Fuel, posts, wildlife food; The Kayenta Navajo used medicinally to treat indigestion. Etymology: Celtis is a Greek name for the tree; reticulata means net-veined, referrring to the leaves. Synonyms: Celtis laevigata var. reticulata, Celtis douglasii, Celtis occidentalis var. reticulata, Celtis reticulata, Celtis reticulata var. vestita Editor: AHazelton 2017