City Trees

I voted for the common hackberry for SMA Urban Tree of the Year because I think it's a bit old-fashioned but has so much warty character. The corky, ridged bark is unmistakable, and even when the leaves are infested with nipple gall, the gall gives the tree additional texture, which I love in the landscape. Typically, in the Rocky Mountain region I see hackberry as a park or street tree. I have seen some spectacular speci- mens in Legion Park in Gering, Nebraska (see photo). I think a lot of people don't give much thought to this tree because it looks dead most of the year until it has leaves on it—and then people only really notice the galls on the leaves. However, it is a tough tree that can tol- erate the Wyoming wind, the dry and high-pH soils, and the harsh winters. I would like to see hackberry utilized more in new developments and used as replacements in the overly mature, declining canopy in many of our com- munities. It's a longer-lived species than the commonly planted cottonwoods and poplars that make up a large per- centage of our community trees. — Tara M. Costanzo, Community Forestry Coordinator, Wyoming State Forestry Division 40 CityTREES "Fairy ring" of hackberry trees. Photo by Rebecca Lane Although hackberry grew in the region of my youth, it did not register as a prominent species of any special char- acter. It was not until I came across the many excellent hackberry trees of the Milwaukee region and began using hackberry as a street tree that I appre- ciated its many excellent qualities. Hackberry varies greatly in form, from upright and arching like an elm to having beautiful 90- degree-angled, horizontal branches perfect for a rope swing. At times I have mistaken it for an elm from a distance. Interestingly, in 2009 the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group reclassified hackberry from the Ulmaceae into the Cannabaceae family based on molecular studies. How come they don't mail out a postcard when a major tree of our region is reclas- sified? Into the hemp family no less! Hackberry, too, might have a thousand medicinal compounds and more ethnobotanical significance than once thought. The first time I really noticed a hackberry, it was the blue fruit (drupes) that caught my attention. On a Milwaukee street tree that I passed nearly every day, birds gathered on the branches chattering and con- suming the drupes en masse. I tried one; it tasted like white granulated sugar. I have since learned that the flavor of the drupes, like the form of the tree, varies; the fruit's said to sometimes be deliciously nutty tasting. I admire the adaptability and toughness of this so-called common hackberry tree, able to tolerate dry or wet and sandy or clay environs. This versatility should be considered when selecting trees capable of enduring climate changes. I enjoy the bark of the hackberry, the ridges and furrows strikingly contrasting in color, especially on a snowy day. Hackberry has inspired me to write two poems, and now this testimonial. One poem was about a hackberry in a residential front yard along the Milwaukee River near Glendale, Wisconsin. There, a family had tended a ring of hackberry trees since 1964 (see photo). As you can see, it belongs in a fairytale! The ring appears to have been formed by root suckers from the mother tree in the middle. What a great natural park they have created. — Rebecca Lane, Urban Forester, City of Oak Creek, Wisconsin

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