Celtis ehrenbergiana (Klotzsch) Liebm.

vernacular spiny hackberry — species · Ulmaceae

USDA: CEEH
GBIF: 2984498 syn.
Rank: species

spiny hackberry (Celtis ehrenbergiana) — Platephotograph · Beto Espinoza source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Shrub, Tree
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Ulmaceae Mirb.
Genus: Celtis

§2a

Native status, by region

L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 8 counties across 2 states/territories

Legend Native · 8 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: High
Shade: High
Moisture use: Low
Fire: High
Salinity: Low
Anaerobic: None
CaCO₃: High
Hedging: High

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -3 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 160 min.
Precipitation: 5–15 in/yr
pH range: 7–8.5
Root depth: 12 in min.
Fertility need: Low
Soil texture: coarse, medium

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Thicket Forming
Growth rate: Slow
Lifespan: Short
Mature height: 10 ft
Height @ 20 y: 10 ft
Foliage texture: Medium
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Moderate
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: Red
Fruit colour: Brown
Fire resistant: Yes
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Spring
Seed abundance: Medium
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Fall
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: Yes
Seeds / lb: 18,000
Propagation: seed, cuttings, bare root, container

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Contracting Only
Nursery stock: Yes
Browse palatability: Low
Graze palatability: Low
Palatable, human: Yes
Protein potential: Low
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 8 counties across 2 states/territories.

Arizona view state ↗ 7 N ▾

Florida view state ↗ 1 N ▾

Lee 12071

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/CEEH ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2984498 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T05:06:36Z