Wild Hackberries: Identification, Uses, and Benefits

Wild Hackberries (Celtis sp.) are unusual wild fruits that hang from large native deciduous trees throughout much of North America. The pea-sized berries have a thin layer of sweet date-like pulp surrounding a crunchy edible nut-like seed, making hackberries one of the few wild fruits that delivers real calories, protein, fat, and carbohydrates in a single bite.

Several species grow across the continent, including Northern Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) in the Midwest and Northeast, Sugarberry (C. laevigata) in the South, Netleaf Hackberry (C. reticulata) in the Southwest and West, and Dwarf Hackberry (C. tenuifolia) in the central US.

Hackberries persist on the tree throughout winter, making them one of the most reliable winter foraging targets. Learn how to identify hackberry trees by the distinctive corky warty bark, harvest the fruit, and use the berries for trail snacks, hackberry milk, and traditional pemmican-style energy bars.

Hackberries are fun little wild edible fruits that don’t fit neatly into any one category. The “fruit” on the outside tastes a bit like a date, and inside, you’ll find a crunchy edible nut. The whole thing is edible and delicious, in a way that’s quite different from any of our cultivated fruits, and it’s an unusual addition to a forager’s wild edible berries and fruits repertoire.

Foragers generally pound their hackberry harvests into bars, make them into naturally sweet nutmilk, or just eat them out of hand in the wild. There is evidence that they were once a substantial food source for our ancestors, but these days they’re often simply planted as ornamental trees or street trees. It’s a shame they’re so seldom used. They’re nutrient-rich, prolific, and once you find a productive hackberry tree, it’ll produce food for generations.

What Are Hackberries?

Hackberries are the fruit of large native deciduous trees in the Celtis genus, traditionally classified in the elm family (Ulmaceae). The genus contains around 70 species worldwide, with several native to North America. The leaves and overall growth habit show a clear family resemblance to true elms, which is why hackberries are often confused with elm trees from a distance.

The trees produce small pea-sized fruits called drupes, with a thin layer of sweet flesh surrounding a single round seed. The seed itself is also edible (and nutritionally significant), making hackberries unusual in being a fruit-and-nut combination in a single bite.

Hackberry trees go by several common names depending on species and region: Common Hackberry, Northern Hackberry, American Hackberry, Sugarberry, Southern Hackberry, Netleaf Hackberry, Dwarf Hackberry, Nettletree, Beaverwood, and several Native American names. The genus name Celtis is the ancient Greek name for a Mediterranean tree (C. australis) that produces similar fruit, used by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History.

Types of Wild Hackberries

Several hackberry species are native to North America, plus various non-native species that occasionally show up in landscape plantings. All native species produce edible fruit and are used identically by foragers, but they vary in geographic range, size, leaf shape, and fruit characteristics.

Northern Hackberry / Common Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)

Northern Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) is the most widespread hackberry species in the eastern and central United States and Canada. The native range extends from southern Ontario and Quebec south to North Carolina and west to Oklahoma and North Dakota. The tree typically reaches 50 to 70 feet tall, occasionally 100 feet or more, with a broad spreading crown.

Northern Hackberry is the species most commonly planted as a street tree in midwestern cities, and the species most foragers encounter in the central and northeastern US. The fruit is small (about ¼ inch) and ripens to dark purple-brown in fall. The leaves are characteristically asymmetrical at the base and rough to the touch.

Sugarberry / Southern Hackberry (Celtis laevigata)

Sugarberry (Celtis laevigata), also called Southern Hackberry, is native to the southeastern United States from Virginia south to Florida and west to Texas. The tree is similar to Northern Hackberry in overall form but is generally smaller (40 to 60 feet) and often has smoother bark with fewer corky warts. The leaves are narrower, more lance-shaped, and have smoother margins than Northern Hackberry.

Sugarberry fruit is reportedly sweeter and juicier than Northern Hackberry, which is the source of the common name. Sugarberry trees are heat-tolerant and are commonly planted as street trees throughout the southern US. Many foragers in the southeastern US consider Sugarberry to have superior fruit to its northern cousin.

Netleaf Hackberry / Western Hackberry (Celtis reticulata)

Netleaf Hackberry (Celtis reticulata), also called Western Hackberry or Canyon Hackberry, is native to the western United States from California east to Texas and south into Mexico. Some botanical references treat it as a variety of Sugarberry (C. laevigata var. reticulata), but most modern sources treat it as a distinct species. The tree is smaller than its eastern relatives, typically reaching only 20 to 30 feet, and often grows as a multi-trunked small tree or large shrub.

Netleaf Hackberry is named for the prominent net-like vein pattern visible on the underside of each leaf, which is more pronounced than on other hackberry species. The fruit is small (about ¼ inch) and ripens to orange-red or red-brown. Netleaf Hackberry is exceptionally drought-tolerant and grows in dry canyons, rocky slopes, and desert washes throughout its range.

Dwarf Hackberry (Celtis tenuifolia)

Dwarf Hackberry (Celtis tenuifolia), sometimes called Georgia Hackberry, is native to the central and eastern United States from Pennsylvania south to Florida and west to Texas. As the common name suggests, this is a smaller species, typically growing as a shrub or small tree to 15 to 30 feet. The leaves are smaller than other hackberries (1 to 3 inches long) with smoother margins, often with teeth only near the leaf tip.

Dwarf Hackberry produces edible fruit similar to its larger cousins, though the small size of the trees means individual harvests tend to be smaller. The species is most common on rocky bluffs, dry hillsides, and in poor soils where larger trees struggle to establish.

Mediterranean Hackberry (Celtis australis)

Mediterranean Hackberry (Celtis australis), also called European Hackberry or Lote Tree, is native to southern Europe, North Africa, and southwestern Asia. It’s not native to North America but is occasionally planted as an ornamental in the southern US and California. The fruit is reportedly larger and sweeter than North American hackberries, and the species has a long history of culinary use throughout the Mediterranean region.

Some scholars believe this is the “lotus” tree mentioned by Homer in The Odyssey, said to produce a fruit so delicious that those who ate it forgot their homes and families. Whether or not the legend is true, Mediterranean Hackberry fruit has been consumed in southern Europe and the Middle East for thousands of years. The fruit is broadly similar to hawthorn in size and use, though the flavor is sweeter and the seed is edible (unlike hawthorn’s hard non-edible pits).

Chinese Hackberry (Celtis sinensis)

Chinese Hackberry (Celtis sinensis) is native to East Asia and occasionally planted as an ornamental in the southern United States. Like other hackberries, the fruit is edible, though less commonly used by foragers in North America since the trees are uncommon outside of urban plantings.

Are Hackberries Edible?

Yes, hackberries are completely edible and not poisonous. All North American species in the Celtis genus produce safe, edible fruit. Hackberries are unusual among wild fruits in that the entire fruit including the seed is eaten, and the seed contributes most of the nutritional value.

The fruit consists of three layers:

• Outer skin: A thin smooth purple-brown or red-brown skin that’s perfectly edible.
• Sweet flesh layer: A thin layer of sweet sticky pulp that tastes like dates or sweet figs. The flesh is the main flavor of the fruit and contributes most of the sugar.
• Hard nut-like seed: A round seed about the size of a small pea, with a hard shell. The seed is rich in fat and protein, and unlike most seeds, it’s perfectly safe to chew and eat.

The whole fruit is high in calories, fat, carbohydrates, sugars, and protein, which makes hackberries one of the most nutritionally complete wild foods available. Many homesteaders also use hackberries as fodder for livestock, including cattle and goats, and the trees fit beautifully into a diversified year-round permaculture orchard. Herbalists have used the fruit, leaves, wood, and bark in traditional medicine, though these uses aren’t common today.

Hackberries have been a human food for hundreds of thousands of years. Archaeological evidence places hackberry seeds at the “Peking Man” site in Zhoukoudian, China dating to 500,000 years ago, and at the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter in Pennsylvania dating to 19,000 years ago. The noted foraging expert Sam Thayer says, “In sheer survival value, it [the hackberry] is unsurpassed.”

What Do Hackberries Taste Like?

Hackberries taste sweet and date-like, with a flavor often described as a cross between a date and a sweet fig. The thin flesh is concentrated with sugar and has a mildly fruity character, while the inner seed adds a nutty crunch reminiscent of a peanut M&M. Some foragers say hackberries taste like sweet bird seed, with the seed contributing more flavor than the flesh.

The flavor varies considerably between individual trees, and even between years on the same tree. Some trees produce noticeably sweeter or larger fruit than others, so it’s worth taste-testing several trees in your area to find the best producers. Sugarberry (C. laevigata) is generally reported to be sweeter and juicier than Northern Hackberry, while Mediterranean Hackberry (C. australis) is often considered the best-tasting species worldwide.

Hackberry Medicinal Benefits

Several Native American groups used hackberry in their traditional medicine practices. Some groups made a decoction from the bark for treating venereal disease and sore throats, regulating menstrual cycles, and inducing abortions. The leaves were used in poultices for wounds and skin conditions.

Hackberry has also been the focus of a couple of modern medical studies. One study from 2011 indicated that hackberry extract has potent antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. These features help protect against damage from aging and diseases like cancer.

The related Oriental Hackberry (Celtis tournefortii) has also been the focus of several studies. One study found that the antioxidants in a leaf extract of Oriental Hackberry may prevent damage from liver fibrosis, lesions, and other disease. While Northern Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) wasn’t specifically looked at, it may share its relatives’ properties.

In general, hackberry has been widely ignored in modern times for both nutritional and medicinal value. This is especially saddening given the hackberry’s widespread and important historical use. Throughout history, people worldwide have relied on their local hackberries’ dense load of vitamins, calories, minerals, proteins, fats, and sugars to survive.

Where Do Hackberries Grow?

Hackberry species native to North America cover most of the continent, with different species occupying different regions. The tree is widely planted as a street tree and ornamental, so foraging opportunities exist in both wild and urban settings.

Geographic distribution by region:

• Northeast and Upper Midwest: Northern Hackberry (C. occidentalis) is the dominant native species, common from Quebec south through New England and west across the Midwest.
• Central US: Northern Hackberry is most common, with Dwarf Hackberry on dry rocky sites and Sugarberry beginning to appear in southern parts of the region.
• Southeast and Gulf Coast: Sugarberry (C. laevigata) is dominant, with Northern Hackberry overlapping in the upper South.
• Southwest and Mountain West: Netleaf Hackberry (C. reticulata) is most common, growing in canyons, dry slopes, and desert washes.
• California: Netleaf Hackberry in the southern interior, with occasional Mediterranean Hackberry plantings in urban areas.
• Pacific Northwest: Hackberries are uncommon in this region, mostly limited to ornamental plantings.
• Canada: Northern Hackberry reaches as far north as southern Ontario and Quebec, with scattered populations in Manitoba.

Hackberries are found in a variety of habitats:

• Riverbanks, floodplains, and the edges of small streams
• Bottomland forests with rich alluvial soil
• Limestone outcrops and rocky slopes (especially Northern Hackberry)
• Open woodlands and forest edges
• Old fields and hedgerows
• City streets, parks, and urban landscape plantings (extremely common)
• Suburban yards and roadside plantings
• Dry rocky uplands and limestone bluffs (Dwarf Hackberry)
• Desert canyons and washes (Netleaf Hackberry)

Hackberry tolerates a wide range of soil conditions including clay, loam, and sandy soils, with both alkaline and acidic pH. The tree is most frequently found on alkaline soils derived from limestone bedrock. It also tolerates urban pollution, drought, salt, and compacted soil better than most native trees, which is why it’s so commonly used in urban landscapes. Hackberries often grow alongside other useful native fruit and nut trees including wild apples and crabapples, wild plums, and black walnuts in bottomland forests.

When to Find Wild Hackberries

Hackberries typically reach maturity in September across their range. While you can harvest them as early as September, many foragers find it much easier to wait until the leaves have dropped (usually in October or November) to harvest the berries. Without leaves blocking the view, the dark fruit is easy to spot against the bare branches.

One of the best things about hackberries is that they stay good on the tree all through winter, making them an excellent winter food source for humans and wildlife. The low moisture content of the dried fruit means hackberries don’t ferment or rot on the tree the way most fruit does, and they can hang in good condition for months. In good years, you may find berries as late as April or even into early summer of the following year.

However, hackberry production fluctuates considerably from year to year. In years with poor yields, wildlife may eat all the fruit by early winter, while in bumper years, plenty remains into spring. The best foraging strategy is to mark productive trees during good years and check them every fall, the same way you’d track a productive aronia or serviceberry patch.

Seasonal foraging timing:

• Spring (April-May): Inconspicuous greenish flowers appear with the leaves. Best time to harvest leaves for medicinal purposes.
• Summer (June-August): Green developing fruit, hard to spot among the foliage. Trees are easy to identify by bark and leaf shape.
• Early fall (September-October): Fruit ripens to dark purple-brown or red-brown. Leaves still on the tree.
• Late fall (November-December): Best harvest window. Leaves have dropped, fruit is fully ripe and visible against bare branches.
• Winter (December-March): Persistent fruit makes hackberries one of the few wild foods reliably available in deep winter, alongside beech nuts hiding under fall leaves.
• Early spring (March-April): Fruit may still be present from previous fall, though usually reduced by wildlife predation.

How to Identify Wild Hackberries

Hackberry is a tree most people have probably walked past without thinking about, but once you know what to look for, hackberries are easy to identify. The combination of features that identifies a hackberry tree:

• Medium to large deciduous tree (typically 50 to 70 feet, occasionally 100+ feet)
• Distinctive corky, wart-like ridges on the bark of mature trees (the single most reliable identification feature)
• Light to medium green asymmetrical leaves with three prominent veins from the leaf base
• Slender reddish-brown or greenish-brown twigs
• Small pea-sized fruit on long stems hanging from the branches in fall
• Frequent presence of “hackberry nipple gall” insect bumps on leaves and “witches broom” abnormalities on twigs (both are species-specific to hackberries)

Hackberry Bark

The bark on the hackberry’s main trunk is the tree’s single most distinctive feature and the easiest way to identify a hackberry from a distance. Mature hackberry bark is silvery gray or light brown with prominent corky, wart-like ridges that look like nothing else in the forest. If you look closely, the ridges have layers that make them look like sedimentary rock or stacked oyster shells. Sometimes the valleys between these ridges are as deep as an adult’s finger and about as wide as a quarter.

Young hackberry bark is smoother and grayer, with the corky ridges only beginning to develop on saplings. As the tree matures, the warty ridges become more pronounced and continue developing throughout the tree’s lifespan. A mature hackberry bark is unmistakable once you’ve trained your eye to it.

Hackberry typically has slender reddish-brown or greenish-brown twigs. These twigs often form quite close together and are sometimes affected by a mite and fungus that cause a feature called “witch’s broom.” This infection causes several twigs to grow from the same point on one branch, forming a broom-like structure that’s distinctive of hackberry trees.

Hackberry Leaves

Hackberry has light green to medium green leaves that are generally lighter colored than many other deciduous species, helping you pick the tree out from a distance. The leaves are typically 3 to 6 inches long and ovate to ovate-lanceolate (egg-shaped to lance-shaped). They are often distinctly asymmetrical at the base, with one side of the leaf clearly larger than the other where it meets the petiole.

Three prominent veins run from the leaf base, which is a useful diagnostic feature shared with elms and a few other genera. The leaf margins are shallowly toothed except near the base, where they’re typically smooth. The leaf surface is rough to the touch, which is unusual among the trees in their typical habitats.

Hackberry leaves are often infected by an insect called Pachypsylla celtidismamma. This insect causes wart-like growths on the leaves’ lower surface, known as “hackberry nipple galls.” The galls are species-specific to hackberries and are diagnostic of the genus, even though they’re considered cosmetic damage. Hackberry foliage turns yellow in autumn before dropping.

Hackberry Flowers

Hackberry has tiny, inconspicuous flowers that appear on long stems in spring as soon as the leaves do. The flowers are cream-colored or greenish, with four sepals, and are easy to miss because they’re so small and unshowy. The flowers are wind-pollinated rather than insect-pollinated, which is why they don’t put on a showy display.

Hackberry Fruit

The flowers give way to small pea-sized berries (botanically drupes) held on long thin stems. Each berry is about ¼ inch in diameter, with a thin layer of dry sugary pulp covered in smooth skin and a single round seed inside. The berries ripen through green to orange to red-brown to dark purple-brown, with the final color varying by species:

• Northern Hackberry: Dark purple-brown to black-purple at full ripeness
• Sugarberry: Orange-red to red-brown at full ripeness
• Netleaf Hackberry: Orange-red to red-brown at full ripeness
• Dwarf Hackberry: Orange-red to red-brown

The fruit hangs on long, slender stems, often staying attached to the tree well into winter. The persistent fruit is one of the most diagnostic features of the genus during the dormant season, when bare branches with small dark fruit visible from a distance can be seen and identified.

Hackberry Look-Alikes

Once you’ve learned to recognize hackberry’s distinctive corky bark, the tree is hard to confuse with anything else. Within the Celtis genus, all species are edible, so confusion between hackberry species is informational rather than dangerous. The most important non-Celtis look-alikes:

American Elm and Other Elms

American Elm (Ulmus americana) and other elm species are the most common look-alike for hackberry, since both trees share the same plant family and have similar leaf shape with asymmetrical bases. The differences:

• Elm bark is fissured and ridged but not warty or corky like hackberry. Elm bark is much more uniform in texture.
• Elm leaves have more deeply double-toothed margins (each tooth has smaller teeth on it).
• Elm produces winged samaras (papery seeds in flat round wings) rather than fleshy fruit.
• Elm doesn’t have hackberry nipple galls or witches broom.
• Elm leaves and fruit are different enough that no one would confuse them once both trees are in fruit, but the leaf shape similarity is real and explains why both trees were classified together for so long.

Common Buckthorn

Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) is an invasive shrub that produces small dark berries in clusters that some foragers might confuse with hackberry from a distance. Buckthorn berries are mildly toxic and act as a strong laxative when eaten in any quantity. The differences:

• Common Buckthorn is a small tree or large shrub usually only reaching up to 33 feet in height; hackberry is typically a much larger tree.
• Common Buckthorn bark is gray-brown and lacks corky ridges. The smooth bark is the easiest distinction.
• Common Buckthorn branches typically have large thorns or spikes; hackberry has unarmed branches.
• Common Buckthorn has elliptic to oval leaves with smooth (not toothed) margins; hackberry leaves are toothed and asymmetrical at the base.
• Buckthorn berries grow in clusters of multiple berries on short stems; hackberry berries hang individually on long thin stems.
• Buckthorn berries each contain 2 to 4 seeds; hackberry has a single round seed per fruit.
• Buckthorn bark, when cut, has bright yellow inner bark; hackberry inner bark is whitish.

Mulberry

Mulberry (Morus spp.) trees can sometimes be confused with hackberry from a distance because both are medium-sized deciduous trees that grow in similar habitats. Mulberry is edible (and delicious), so confusion is not a safety issue. The differences:

• Mulberry leaves are often deeply lobed (with mitten-shaped or three-lobed forms common on the same tree); hackberry leaves are unlobed.
• Mulberry bark is finely furrowed and often orange-tinged; hackberry bark is corky and wart-like.
• Mulberry produces aggregate fruit (looks like an elongated raspberry); hackberry produces single round fruit on long stems.
• Mulberries ripen in early summer; hackberries ripen in fall.
• When in doubt, the bark distinguishes them clearly.

How to Harvest Wild Hackberries

Hackberry harvest is unusual among wild fruits because the trees are so large. Most foragers find hackberries on lower branches that can be reached from the ground, but mature trees may have most of their fruit out of reach without a ladder or pole pruner. Practical harvest tips:

• Wait until after leaf drop in late October or November for the easiest harvest. The bare branches make the dark fruit much easier to spot and reach.
• Look for trees in open settings where lower branches have plenty of sun. Trees in dense forests often have all their fruit at the canopy level, far out of reach.
• Urban hackberries (street trees, park plantings) are often the most accessible. Many cities have rows of mature hackberry street trees that produce abundant fruit at reachable heights.
• Pick fruit by stripping it from the long stems. The whole cluster of fruit comes off easily once ripe.
• Spread a tarp under the tree and shake the lower branches to collect fallen fruit quickly. This is especially useful for larger harvests.
• Harvest into a bucket or basket. Hackberries don’t bruise like soft fruits, so they don’t need careful handling.
• Plan to dry the harvest immediately if you’ve gathered more than you’ll eat fresh. Hackberries dry well and store almost indefinitely once moisture is removed.
• Take advantage of the persistent fruit. If you find a tree with hackberries still hanging in February, the fruit is still good. Just be sure to inspect for insect damage (small holes in the skin), since insects can hollow out the fruit while leaving the husks.

A productive mature hackberry tree can yield several pounds of fruit in a single harvest session. The fruit is small but adds up quickly, and a quart of hackberries provides substantial calories and protein for the effort.

Ways to Use Wild Hackberries

Commonly ignored today, hackberries played a huge role in human cuisine and medicine wherever they grew. Hackberry remains have been found in archaeological sites all over the world, dating back hundreds of thousands of years. Though they’re unlike any of our cultivated fruits, hackberries are an excellent find for any forager today. They’re highly nutritious and full of fat, protein, and calories that aren’t found in other wild fruits.

To get the full nutritional benefit, you need to consume the entire hackberry including the seed and flesh. The seed is quite crunchy but easily digestible, and the seed contributes most of the nutritional value. You can also process hackberries with a grinder, mortar and pestle, or high-speed blender to eliminate the crunch.

If you don’t mind the crunch, you can eat hackberries whole right on the trail. Some foragers liken them to eating peanut M&Ms with a thin layer of sweet flesh and a crunchy protein-rich center.

Common ways to use hackberries:

• Trail snack: Eat fresh off the tree, whole. The texture takes some getting used to, but the date-like sweetness with nutty crunch is unique.
• Hackberry milk: Crush and steep in water, then strain to make a sweet plant-based milk similar to almond milk or horchata. Adds well to smoothies and baked goods.
• Energy bars or pemmican: Pound the dried fruit into bars, often combined with dried meat, dried fruit, and fat. This is one of the oldest documented preparations.
• Granola and trail mix: Add whole or crushed dried hackberries to homemade granola, oatmeal, or trail mix.
• Hackberry flour: Grind dried hackberries in a high-speed blender or grain mill to make a coarse flour for pancakes, muffins, or quick breads. The flour adds protein and fat plus a sweet date-like flavor.
• Hackberry custards and puddings: Use hackberry milk as the base for sweet custards, puddings, or chia pudding.
• Jam (with seed removal): Strain cooked hackberries to remove the seeds, then make a thick jam from the resulting pulp. The flavor is rich and date-like.
• Wine: Ferment hackberries into a country wine, similar to persimmon wine or other small wild fruit wines.
• Livestock fodder: Drop excess hackberries to chickens, goats, and pigs, all of which enjoy them.

Their texture may take some getting accustomed to, but hackberries make excellent additions to granola bars, pemmican, custards, and desserts once processed. The thin flesh has a sugary, almost date-like flavor that comes through in cooked or processed preparations.

Hackberry Recipes

• The Forager Chef has an excellent recipe for Hackberry Candy Bars that make a great on-the-go snack for foragers.
• The Black Forager has a fun short on quickly processing your hackberries into bars.
• You can also process your hackberries into milk with this great recipe from Emily Han. She recommends sweetening the milk and enjoying it as is or using it to make tasty smoothies, custards, puddings, or other desserts.
• If you’re not a fan of the seeds, try this recipe for Hackberry Jam from Wild Edible Plants of Texas.
• If you find a lot of hackberries, Plant Assassin has a helpful video on how to prepare them for storage.
• For a traditional pemmican-style preparation, see the recipe for Pemmican Lollipops, which can incorporate hackberry flour for added sweetness and nutrition.

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