Hackberry

Description:

Medium tree with grey, often warty bark.

Notes:

The tiny, smooth round drupes are little more then a hard pit surrounded by a very thin layer of sweet skin, but are a very important food source for many animals, especially birds. There is a human connection as well. Seeds found in an archaeological site in Denton County, Texas, possibly dating as far back as 10,000 BCE, could represent some of the oldest plant remains utilized by humans in North America. The thin layer of sweet, dry, pulp is sweeter in some species than others. The fruit is good raw as a nibble or cooked down for a syrup. Some species can be ground up, pulp and seed together, for eating.