This article will address the issue of Celtis, which has become increasingly relevant today. Since its emergence, Celtis has aroused great interest in various sectors, generating debates and controversies around its social, economic and cultural impact. In this sense, it is essential to analyze in depth the different aspects related to Celtis, as well as its implications at a global level. Likewise, it will seek to offer a comprehensive and objective vision of this topic, providing key information that allows the reader to understand its importance and scope today.
Genus of flowering plants belonging to the hop and hemp family
Celtis is a genus of about 60–70 species of deciduous trees, commonly known as hackberries or nettle trees, widespread in warm temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The genus is part of the extended Cannabis family (Cannabaceae).
Description
Celtis species are generally medium-sized trees, reaching 10–25 metres (33–82 feet) tall, rarely up to 40 m (130 ft) tall. The leaves are alternate, simple, 3–15 centimetres (1+1⁄4–6 inches) long, ovate-acuminate, and evenly serrated margins. Diagnostically, Celtis can be very similar to trees in the Rosaceae and other rose motif families.[citation needed]
Small flowers of this monoecious plant appear in early spring while the leaves are still developing. Male flowers are longer and fuzzy. Female flowers are greenish and more rounded.[citation needed]
The fruit is a small drupe 6–10 millimetres (1⁄4–3⁄8 in) in diameter, edible in many species, with a dryish but sweet, sugary consistency, reminiscent of a date.[citation needed]
Taxonomy
Previously included either in the elm family (Ulmaceae) or a separate family, Celtidaceae, the APG III system places Celtis in an expanded hemp family (Cannabaceae).
Phylogeny
Members of the genus are present in the fossil record as early as the Miocene of Europe, and Paleocene of North America and eastern Asia.
Several species are grown as ornamental trees, valued for their drought tolerance. They are a regular feature of arboreta and botanical gardens, particularly in North America. Chinese hackberry (C. sinensis) is suited for bonsai culture; a magnificent specimen in Daegu-myeon is one of the natural monuments of South Korea. The berries are generally edible when they ripen and fall.C. occidentalis fruit was used by the Omaha, eaten casually, as well as the Dakota people, who pounded them fine, seeds and all. The Pawnee used the pounded fruits in combination with fat and parched corn.
Hackberry wood is sometimes used in cabinetry and woodworking. The berries of some, such as C. douglasii, are edible, and were consumed by the Mescalero Apaches.
Gallery
C. aetnensis with mature fruit
Caucasian hackberry (C.caucasica) with immature fruit
^MacPhail, M. K., N. F. Alley, E. M. Truswell and I. R. K. Sluiter (1994). "Early Tertiary vegetation: evidence from spores and pollen." History of the Australian Vegetation: Cretaceous to Recent. Ed. Robert S. Hill. Cambridge University Press. pp. 189–261. ISBN0521401976.Partially available on Google Books.
^Manchester, S. R., Akhmetiev, M. A., & Kodrul, T. M. (2002). Leaves and fruits of Celtis aspera (Newberry) comb. nov. (Celtidaceae) from the Paleocene of North America and eastern Asia. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 163(5), 725-736.
^Celtis L.Plants of the World Online, Kew Science. Accessed 11 December 2022.
^"GRIN Species Records of Celtis". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
^Brower, Andrew V.Z. (2006). Problems with DNA barcodes for species delimitation: ‘ten species’ of Astraptes fulgerator reassessed (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae). Systematics and Biodiversity4(2): 127–132. doi:10.1017/S147720000500191XPDF fulltext