The wood is close-grained, tough, strong, heavy, hard, moderately durable in contact with the soil. It is used for fence posts, crossties, agricultural implements, ribs for small boats and for some other purposes.
The water elm, Planera aquatica Gmel., is a small tree with slender branches forming a low broad head and is found in swamps in the valley of the Wabash River in this State. It reaches its best development in Arkansas and Louisiana. It has dull green leaves 2 inches long and 1 inch wide. The fruit is an oblong, dark brown drupe.
HACKBERRY Celtis occidentalis L.
THE rough-leaved hackberry is found sparsely throughout the State. It occurs most abundantly and of greatest size in the rich alluvial lands in the lower part of the State, but thrives, however, on various types of soil, from the poorest to the richest. It is usually a medium-sized tree from 30 to 50 feet high and 10 to 20 inches in diameter, but trees 3 feet in diameter are found in the Wabash bottoms in southern Illinois. Its limbs are often crooked and angular and bear a head made of slender, pendant branches or short, bristly, stubby twigs. In the open the crown is generally very symmetrical. It makes an excellent shade tree.
HACKBERRY
Leaf, one-third natural size. Twig, one-half natural size.
The bark is grayish and generally rough with scale-like or warty projections of dead bark. In some instances the bark is smooth enough on the limbs to resemble that of the beech.