hackberry

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NOTE: there is rarely any "standard" or "typical" look for a wood so take what's in this table with a grain of salt
the REST of the pictures on this page will give you a better overall feel for this wood

hackberry / Celtis spp.
over 20 Celtis spp. have hackberry as all or
part of one or more of their common names
5" x 5" flat cut, 3" x 3" quartersawn, 1" x 1" end grain, and a 1/4" x 1/4" end grain closeup.

Strongly ring porous with a band of earlywood pores several pores thick, then dropping off to smaller pores in ulmiform bands. Hackberry has the closest thing to pure ulmiform bands outside of elm itself. Rays are very clear at 10X

Hobbit note: When I first saw hackberry it was in veneer form and I was absolutely convinced that it was American white ash that had been mislabeled. Since then I've observed that although the face grain is VERY similar to white ash, the end grain is unmistakably different.

The hackberry group of Celtis spp. cannot be distinguished from the sugarberry group of Celtis spp. by the lumber characteristics but only by their tree's botanical characteristics

Hackberry spalts readily and you'll see a lot of spalted planks and spalted bowls.

my samples:
NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K)
colors will vary under other lighting conditions

both sides of a sample plank of hackberry / Celtis occidentalis --- HUGE enlargements are present

end gain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of hackberry / Celtis occidentalis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. When I first looked at this sample, I thought the dark area was blue stain, but after looking at other pics of hackberry, I realized that it really is heartwood

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

both sides of a sample plank of dwarf hackberry / Celtis tenuifolia --- HUGE enlargements are present.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of dwarf hackberry / Celtis tenuifolia --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. The grayish stain appears to be mineral stain.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of dwarf hackberry / Celtis tenuifolia --- HUGE enlargements are present.

end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above

both sides of a sample plank of netleaf hackberry / Celtis reticulata --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of netleaf hackberry / Celtis reticulata --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of netleaf hackberry / Celtis reticulata --- HUGE enlargements are present. I note that the vendor of the sample has it as Celtis laevigata v reticulata which is the actual correct designation.

end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above

both sides of a sample plank of smooth hackberry / Celtis planchioniana --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of quartersawn smooth hackberry / Celtis planchioniana --- HUGE enlargements are present. The yellowish tint on this piece is correct.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of Chinese hackberry / Celtis sinensis --- HUGE enlargements are present.

end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above

first face and the end grain of a sample of hackberry / Celtis spp. This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION B

the second face, before and after slicing off 1/8" showing how the patina from aging is only surface deep.

end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above.

both sides and both ends of a sample piece which, by the way, does not look at all like my other sample directly below, but it does look somewhat like some of the web pics I've collected.

end grain closeup of the piece directly above --- color should be more white, not green

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

small plank and end grain --- contributed by Chris Arvidson, whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site

end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above --- the color of the closeup should be more white but the update IS somewhat yellow as shown

plank and end grain. This was sent to me by Neil Scheidt for identification and I told him I thought it might be sen. He subsequently told me it had been identified by the USDA wood lab as hackberry,

end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above

plank and end grain --- this was sent to me by Neil Scheidt for ID but he figured out it was hackberry before it even arrived on my doorstep.

end grain closeup of the piece directly above

both sides of a sample plank of spalted hackberry / Celtis occidentalis --- HUGE enlargements are present

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of spalted hackberry / Celtis occidentalis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

both sides of a sample plank of spalted Northern hackberry / Celtis occidentalis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was contributed to the site by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above

both sides of a really nicely spalted hackberry plank

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

veneer --- looks exactly like American white ash

Andrew Fridge sent me these pieces for identification. After some debate on the Wood Barter forum and a hands-on examination by Mark Peet, and my own end grain analysis, the conclusion is:

They are certainly either hackberry or elm (either English elm or American elm). The end grain characteristics are not conclusive and they could be either hackberry or one of those elms as far as that is concerned. Mark has seen this form of amorphous spalting far more in hackberry than in elm. I have seen it only rarely and only in hackberry. SO ... to synopsize a long discussion among several people, the final conclusion is that they are almost certainly hackberry. Unless they aren't.

both sides of a pair of spalted planks

end grain of both planks

end grain and END GRAIN UPDATE of the first plank directly above

end grain and END GRAIN UPDATE of the second plank directly above

The Wood Book pics

flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are present for all 3 views

flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
Mississippi hackberry (Celtis mississippiensis, also listed as sugarberry) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for each of the 3 views. Celtis mississippiensis is a synonym for Celtis occidentalis

web pics:

flat cut, quartersawn, and end grain

two views of a log section

raw planks

planks

planks listed as hackberry / Celtis occidentalis

planks listed as European hackberry / Celtis australis

plank listed as Southern hackberry / Celtis australis

planks listed as "Oklahoma" hackberry

both sides and a closeup of a set of planks

crotch

turning stock

pen blanks

veneer

veneer that was listed as EITHER hackberry veneer OR sugarberry veneer (as I have commented, they can be impossible to tell apart)

the following veneer sheets were all identified specifically as Celtis occisentalis

Celtis occidentalis veneer

spalted / rotten stump

spalted planks

spalted planks and closeup

spalted planks and three closeups

spalted turning block, waxed

spalted cant on the mill and a closeup of a slab milled from it

spalted bowl blanks

spalted pen blanks

spalted end grain scales

spalted turning stock

spalted piece

spalted turning stock end grain

both sides and both ends of a small spalted log section

both sides and the end grains of some spalted pieces

spalted bowls --- the unusually rich orange color on the last one is unlikely as a raw wood color; it might have been enhanced by a finishing agent or by the photography; the second one has a void that is more clear in the enlargement. Note how little spalting there is in the first one, but what clear black-line spalting it is.

two views of a spalted bowl

both sides of a spalted bowl and then another spalted bowl, all by Bryan Nelson (NelsonWood)

spalted platter

urn and bowls, both made from spalted hackberry. The orange color is unlikely

spalted hackberry turned box

vase --- not listed as spalted, but it clearly is

two views of a hackberry burl hollow form

bowls

bowls --- although the color on these seems reasonable, it is undoubtedly enhanced by a finishing agent, as the raw wood is not likely to be this rich and shiny

hackberry bowls turned and photographed by Tom Pleatman, whom I thank for these pics and other contributions to the site. Big enlargements are present.

two views of a spalted hackberry pen --- both levels of enlargement are present