How to Identify Hackberry Wood (Celtis occidentalis)

Hackberry, Celtis occidentalis: color, grain, end grain, Janka hardness (880 lbf) and weight, and how to tell it from White Ash, quoted from the USDA Wood Handbook and The Wood Database.

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At a glance

Scientific name: Celtis occidentalis
Type: Hardwood
Origin: Central and eastern United States
Color: Heartwood light brown to gray; wide sapwood a contrasting light yellow; susceptible to blue-gray fungal staining if not processed promptly.
Grain and texture: Grain usually straight or occasionally slightly interlocked, with a very coarse, uneven texture.
End grain: Ring porous; 2-3 rows of large to very large earlywood pores; small to medium latewood pores in wavy tangential bands; tyloses common; parenchyma vasicentric, banded (marginal); rays medium to wide, wide spacing.
Janka hardness: 880 lbf
Specific gravity (12% MC): 0.53
Other clue: Can have a mild odor when worked; closely resembles ash in surface color but is anatomically similar to elm.

What Hackberry looks like

Heartwood light brown to gray; wide sapwood a contrasting light yellow; susceptible to blue-gray fungal staining if not processed promptly. Grain usually straight or occasionally slightly interlocked, with a very coarse, uneven texture. End grain: Ring porous; 2-3 rows of large to very large earlywood pores; small to medium latewood pores in wavy tangential bands; tyloses common; parenchyma vasicentric, banded (marginal); rays medium to wide, wide spacing.

Hardness and weight

Janka hardness 880 lbf (side hardness: the force needed to embed a 0.444-inch steel ball to half its diameter). Specific gravity 0.53 at 12% moisture content, so a cubic foot weighs roughly 33 lb. Weight in the hand is one of the quickest checks: compare a piece of known size against a board you already know.

Hackberry vs White Ash

Hackberry closely resembles ash in surface color and ring-porous look, but is anatomically closer to elm, sharing elm's wavy tangential bands of latewood pores (versus ash's more regular latewood pore distribution); hackberry is also noted as among the best domestic woods for steam bending. The White Ash page has its own details.

Smell, weight and other clues

Can have a mild odor when worked; closely resembles ash in surface color but is anatomically similar to elm.

Where you will meet it

Furniture, boxes/crates, veneer, turned objects, and bent parts.

Working it

Generally good working characteristics with hand and machine tools, though knots or interlocked grain sections can pose challenges; responds superbly to steam bending; glues, turns, stains, and finishes well; reported to cause skin irritation.

How to photograph it for identification

Photograph a freshly cut or sanded face in daylight, not a finished or stained surface, since stain hides color and finish flattens grain. Add a close-up of the end grain: cut a clean end, wet it or sand it to 220, and shoot from straight on; pore pattern and rays are the most reliable marks. Put a ruler in frame. The app suggests the likely species; confirm with the end grain and weight.

FAQ

How hard is Hackberry?

Janka hardness 880 lbf. For comparison, Red Oak is about 1,290 lbf and Eastern White Pine about 380 lbf.

How do I tell Hackberry from White Ash?

Is Hackberry a hardwood or a softwood?

Hackberry is a hardwood: it comes from a broadleaf tree. Hardwood and softwood describe the kind of tree, not how hard the wood is; some hardwoods are softer than some softwoods.

What color is Hackberry?

Heartwood light brown to gray; wide sapwood a contrasting light yellow; susceptible to blue-gray fungal staining if not processed promptly.

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