Hackberries

Hackberries (Genus Celtis – Wikipedia) is native from Tennessee to mid-lower peninsula Michigan and from Ohio to Kansas. Hackberry trees are very hearty, but prefer direct sun, so in Scarlett Mitchell Woods will grow slowly. Hackberry bark is described as forming characteristic corky ridges and warts on trunk and branches. The hackberry leaves are alternate, simple, with one side wider than the other and are 2 to 4 inches long.

Hackberry berries (or drupes) are small, round, and pea-sized, roughly measuring 1/4 of an inch in diameter. The berries ripen from green to orange-red or deep purple in early fall and often remain on the tree through winter. Native Americans eat the berries and is said to taste like fig newtons.