Celtis occidentalis 1/
Ecologically important native tree, produces berries that when steamed and ground taste like raisins+figs+dates+nut. The fruit is scant and all the nutrition is in the seed.
Not pest resistant. Everything eats it but it persists. The trees I collect from don’t seem susceptible to witches broom, none seen on any trees. And there are many. They are mast year type of tree.
Anyone want seeds?
#NativePlants #rewilding #permaculture #GrowYourOwn #gardening #trees
2/
I can’t find any information on how many years it takes till it fruits from seed. But here are some links that talk about its ecological niche:
https://butterflies.naba.org/butterfly-gardening-common-hackberry-celtis-occidentalis/
4/ Lastly, I would need to emphasize that this is often mast year type of tree. Many trees produce an abundance of fruit one year and almost nothing the next. I don’t know if this would count as food security but the seeds last a very long time. In lab settings, seeds planted after two years can still germinate if the shell is intact. But seeds do need to be cold-stratified. #FoodSecurity #ClimateChangeGardening
3/ Cooking with hackberries
First clean the seeds of any insect smut with a vinegar+water solution.
The seed shell is really hard. You can soften it with steaming for 20-30’. Any longer doesn’t make it any softer. Then put it in a mortar and grind it until you don’t hear sandy sounds anymore. It makes a versatile sweet and nutty paste you can use with anything.
@jblue I'm down! At some point in the next month or so, I could also trade some persimmon seeds, too.
@ludibriumventis have you seen my other post? I have a bunch of stuff to share
https://mastodon.world/@jblue/111030812090151429
just let me know what seeds and how many and I will ship everything out first week of November
@jblue haha I love these trees. They stagger on with every disease and bark that looks like wet sand and half their roots eroding and never die.
@jblue not sure why Louisiana is blacked out? I was growing a hackberry on the community farm in Houma, it was doing great, and I've been told it's a native to here?
I'll take some seeds please!
@Ryntastic I don't know why it doesn't show in LA. Could it be your friends were growing Celtis laevigata? That is native to Louisiana. Southern hackberries (laevigata) actually have more fruit on them than occidentalis. Would you rather have laevigata?
@jblue ohhhh snap that would make sense actually. Yea I'll try to find some laevigata instead, thanks!
@Ryntastic I’m actually interested in growing laevigata if you’re friends can spare some fruit. It’s supposed to be native here but I haven’t seen any in my wanderings.
@jblue Noted! I'll see if I can get any for spring and let ya know :D
@Ryntastic I read online that in experiments, the highest germination was for the fruits to still be on the seed when cold-stratified and they should be cold-stratified dry and exposed (not damp). And then in the spring, planted with the fruits still on bc the fermentation process helped the germination. So see if you’re friends will let you keep the fruit intact. 
@jblue
I follow the gardening hashtag, so I'm not familiar with your account... So, native tree to where?
@TheGreatLlama map of Celtis occidentalis from bonap.org: dark green squares mean the species is present in county and native, light green means species is present and not rare, yellow means species is present but rare, and blue means the species is native, but adventive in state
@jblue
Ah, gotcha. I was surprised I wasn't familiar with it, but I'm in Oregon, so that makes sense.
@jblue the recipes for hackberries in Chef Rob Connelly's book "Acorns and Cattails" stood out to me
The ones for hackberry soda and hackberry pot de crème are notably very approachable recipes
@brege thanks, I’ll check it out 
@brege my library has it in storage, just placed a hold 
@jblue that's excellent, the library is the same way I discovered his book and his work too. It's a refreshing perspective
@jblue is this hackberry also the tree called Celtis? And which one is it?
Lol. Just read that Celtis is in the cannabinacea. Gotta have some interesting compounds.
@deepmud hmmm, dunno. Celtis is a large genus and there are multiple species in North America. This is the most common one.
I don’t think the trees in Celtis have much or any pharmacological use. Deer eat the leaves if accesible so we’d see them tripping.
@jblue lol. I'm not suggesting Celtis is going to make you high. But it's quite likely there are compounds with pharmacologic value in Celtis.