Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)

Hackberry is a domestic hardwood

Location

Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) and sugarberry (C. laevigata) supply the lumber known in the trade as hackberry. Hackberry grows east of the Great Plains from Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, and Oklahoma northward, except along the Canadian boundary. Sugarberry overlaps the southern part of the hackberry range and grows throughout the Southern and South Atlantic States.

Characteristics

Sapwood of both species varies from pale yellow to greenish or grayish yellow. The heartwood is commonly darker. The wood resembles elm in structure. Hackberry lumber is moderately heavy. It is moderately strong in bending, moderately weak in compression parallel to grain, moderately hard to very hard, and high in shock resistance, but low in stiffness. Hackberry has high shrinkage but keeps its shape well during drying.

Primary Uses

Most hackberry is cut into lumber; small amounts are used for furniture parts, dimension stock, and veneer.

*Much of the base wood information presented here is made available by the USDA FPL FS. If you are interested in a much more technical description of wood properties, I encourage you to visit the source.