Scott hasa gravid post on hackberries over at The Grow web :
I ’ve been ask a figure of strange and interesting foraging questions . normally , it ’s something along the line of work of , “ What works is this ? ” ( I happen works - designation inquiry to be the most reasonable and absurd , all at once . On the one hand , identifying plants is a big part of what I do . On the other hand , there are near to 400 million metal money of plant in the world , so I ’ve dedicate plenty of shrugs in answer to that question . ) But my favorite enquiry might have been when someone require me if there was a foraging equivalent to Grape - Nuts cereal grass . It was so absurdly specific and random . And in effect of all , I know the perfect answer : hackberries .
Getting to Know Your Local Hackberry
Hackberry is the common name used for trees in the Celtis genus . They grow throughout the warmer areas of the Northern Hemisphere — including throughout the United States , southern Europe , and Mexico , and in part of Canada and Asia . They can also be found in northerly and central South America and in southerly to cardinal Africa . I ’ve heard no reputation of hackberries in Australia , but they ’ve traveled around so well , I ’d be surprised if a few had n’t see their way on over .
sugarberry trees prefer to rise near piddle sources , though I ’ve seen deal in comparatively teetotal places . They compete well with other Tree and are easily spread out by athirst bird . If you know in any of the place mentioned above , chances are middling good that you have hackberry nearby .
Most tree diagram in this genus produce an comestible fruit , though you may want to double - chit with a risky plant life expert in your area just to be sure . ( Safety first , right ? ) The overriding coinage in my domain , Celtis laevigata , is also called the sugarberry tree . This is an clever name . The fruit are fresh , but the pulp is about the thickness of tissue newspaper . gratefully the seed is also edible . More on that in a bit .
Identifying the Hackberry
The leaves are alternate , longer than they are blanket , and have asymmetrical bases . Leaf gall are unwashed enough that they can much be used as an identifying characteristic .
The barque is grey and still , but punctuated randomly and frequently by warts . These wart have a consistency interchangeable to cork and are one of the key recognition feature of the tree . At least one specie has thorns .
depend on the coinage , hackberry trees can develop quite tall , which makes harvesting the yield a challenge . I may be opine it , but I always seem to spy more berry up in the higher branches than in the lower one . I usually back my hand truck up underneath a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and brook in the seam to glean them . I also know of a couple of trees that grow together on a extortionate mound , give one side of the tree diagram very approachable . geographics countenance , this may be a strategy you’re able to utilize . A small heady pruning could also help to shape a tree , if you originate it young enough .
The fruit is modest , about the size of a pencil eraser . It will take you a while to gather any sizeable amount . The color ranges from a reddish - orange to a imperial - red . But keep in mind that I do n’t have the most reliable color vision , so your results may vary slimly . As state above , the fruit is mostly seed . The seeded player is edible and you may vanquish it with your teeth . . . unless a dental practitioner is reading this , in which display case I think to say , “ Never crush the seed with your teeth . ” The skin is crunchy with a very thin , sweet pulp . Think of them as a wildcrafted version of a Peanut M&M.
Readthe rest of the stake here . There ’s a lot more .
I had multiple great hackberry Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in my Tennessee G . The yield were lackluster , rather like a dried coating of particular date cutis over buckshot , but they taste courteous . I had no idea there were better types . In Tennessee , people often considered them a “ methamphetamine hydrochloride ” tree . I thought they made nice shadiness tree , though , and the bark was interesting .
Another thing I liked about my sugarberry tree was the leave they bring forth . They composted pronto , and at nighttime in the drop I could in reality hear the worms gnaw at the layer of leaves beneath the trees . The soil was great around those tree .
It ’s supposed to bea decent lumber as well .
Who have a go at it ?
