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Celtis reticulata Torr.

Modern name

Celtis laevigata var. reticulata (Torr.) Benson

A small deciduous tree 30 to 40 ft high, sometimes shrubby; young shoots covered thickly with outstanding down. Leaves obliquely ovate, rounded or heart-shaped at the base, pointed, toothed except at the base, often entire on adult plants; 112 to 412 in. long, 1 to 3 in. wide; pale bright green, rough to the touch and with scarcely any down above; very downy on the midrib and veins, and conspicuously net-veined beneath; stalk 14 to 38 in. long. Fruit globose, 13 in. wide, orange-red, borne on a slender downy stalk 13 to 12 in. long.

Native of the S.W. United States (Texas, etc.); originally described in 1828. On young trees introduced from the Arnold Arboretum in 1920, the leaves are more downy and more conspicuously toothed than in adult fruit-bearing speci­mens collected in the wild; the latter have leaves toothed only near the apex or are quite toothless. The strong venation of the leaves is a prominent characteristic of this tree.



From the Supplement (Vol. V)

This is best regarded as a variety of C. occidentalis – var. reticulata (Torr.) Sarg. There are young plants at Kew.

Genus

Celtis

Other species in the genus