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Common Hackberry

Celtis occidentalis

Found in dry to moist glades, outcrops, barrens, woodlands, and bottomland forests, usually over calcareous substrates. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

65
Strong

Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
40–100 feet
Spread
40–60 feet
Light
Deep shade, Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 30 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
March to May
Fruiting season
August to October

Recorded in 10 West Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 114 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (38)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of West Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

48CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · Celtis

  • Asterocampa celtisHackberry Emperor
  • Automeris ioIo Moth
  • Nymphalis antiopaMourning Cloak
  • Polygonia interrogationisQuestion Mark
  • Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
  • Acronicta rubricomaRuddy Dagger, Hackberry Dagger
  • Alsophila pometariaFall Cankerworm Moth
  • Amphipyra pyramidoidesMiranda Underwing, Copper Underwing, Copper Amphipyra
  • Anisota virginiensisPink-striped Oakworm Moth
  • Asterocampa clytonTawny Emperor
Show all 48
  • Biston betulariaSalt-and-Pepper Geometer, Cleft-Headed Looper
  • Catocala sordidaSordid Underwing
  • Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
  • Digrammia continuataCurve-Lined Angle
  • Euclea delphiniiSpiny Oak-Slug Moth
  • Euplexia benesimilisAmerican Angle Shades
  • Eupsilia vinulentaStraight-Toothed Sallow
  • Halysidota tessellarisBanded Tussock Moth, Pale Tiger Moth
  • Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
  • Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
  • Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
  • Isogona tenuisThin-Lined Owlet
  • Isturgia dislocariaPale-Veined Isturgia, Pale-Veined Econista
  • Kocakina fidelisIntractable Quaker, Green Fruitworm, Fourlined Green Fruitworm
  • Libytheana carinentaAmerican Snout [subspecies: Eastern Snout Butterfly]
  • Lophocampa caryaeHickory Tussock Moth, Hickory Tiger Moth
  • Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
  • Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
  • Norape cretataWhite Flannel Moth
  • Olethreutes mysterianaMysterious Olethreutes
  • Orgyia definitaDefinite Tussock Moth
  • Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
  • Paleacrita vernataSpring Cankerworm Moth
  • Phigalia strigatariaSmall Phigalia, Small Oak Looper
  • Phyllodesma americanaLappet Moth, American Lappet Moth, Southern Lappet Moth
  • Polygonia commaEastern Comma
  • Prionoxystus robiniaeCarpenterworm Moth, Black Locust Borer, Cottonwood Borer
  • Rifargia subrotataSmall Heterocampa
  • Schizura ipomaeaeMorning-Glory Prominent, Checkered-Fringe Prominent
  • Sciota celtidellaHackberry Leafroller
  • Sciota rubrisparsellaRed-Splashed Leafroller
  • Sericaglaea signataVariable Sallow
  • Sphinx drupiferarumWild Cherry Sphinx
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
  • Epinotia celtisana
  • Epinotia vertumnana
  • Phyllonorycter celtifoliella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
12BirdsRecorded eating Celtis in West Virginia

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.

Show all 12
Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab)

Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Birds that eat Celtis 12

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Cannabaceae
Hardiness
Zones 3a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic to alkaline
Flower color
Yellow, green, inconspicuous, orange or purple
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Single stem
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
August
Fruit ends
October

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Celtis occidentalis var. occidentalis; Hackberry; Northern Hackberry

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources