''Celtis australis'', the European nettle tree, Mediterranean hackberry, lote tree, or honeyberry, is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...

tree native to Southern Europe, North Africa, and

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

. The tree was introduced to England in 1796.Hillier Nurseries Ltd. (1977). ''Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs, 4th edition'', p.70. David & Charles, Newton Abbott, UK.

Description

The tree can grow to 25 m in height, though 10 m is more common in cooler climates. The bark is smooth and grey, almost elephantine.More, D. & White, J. (2003).''Trees of Britain & Northern Europe'', p. 417. Cassells, London. . The alternate leaves are narrow and sharp-toothed, rugose above and tomentose below, 5–15 cm long and dark grey/green throughout the year, fading to a pale yellow before falling in autumn. The apetalous wind-pollinated flowers are

perfect Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection, completeness, excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film * Perfect (1985 film), ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * Perfect (2018 f ...

(hermaphrodite, having both male and female organs), small and green, either singly or in small clusters. The fruit is a small, dark-purple berry-like

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part ( exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kerne ...

, 1 cm wide, hanging in short clusters. They are edible and are extremely popular with birds and other wildlife. File:Barjols2013 016.jpg, ''C. australis'', Fox-Amphoux, France, planted 1550 File:Celtis australis NP.JPG, ''C. australis'' in Panchkhal VDC, Nepal File:Flower of Celtis australis NP.JPG, Flower of ''C. australis'' File:Celtis australis-StSauveur-4925~2015 10 31.JPG, ''C. australis'' autumn leaves File:Muntic_ladonja.jpg, ''C. australis'' Muntic, Croatia, planted in the early 16th century.

History

''Celtis australis'' is supposed to have been the Lotus of the ancients, whose fruit

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known for ...

Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides ( grc-gre, Πεδάνιος Διοσκουρίδης, ; 40–90 AD), “the father of pharmacognosy”, was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of '' De materia medica'' (, On Medical Material) —a 5-vo ...

, and

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routle ...

describe as sweet, pleasant, and wholesome.

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of ...

has Ulysses refer to the " Lotus-eaters" and the "lotus" in ''Odyssey, Book IX''. It is often planted as an ornamental as it is long-living and resistant to air pollution. The fruit of this tree is sweet and edible, and can be eaten raw or cooked. The leaves and fruit are astringent, lenitive, and stomachic. Decoction of both leaves and fruit is used in the treatment of amenorrhoea, heavy menstrual and inter-menstrual bleeding, and colic. The decoction can also be used to astringe the mucous membranes in the treatment of

diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin ...

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complication ...

, and peptic ulcers. A yellow dye is obtained from the bark. The wood is very tough, pliable, durable, and widely used by turners; the flexible, thin shoots are used as walking sticks.

Cultivation

The plant prefers light well-drained (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, including those nutritionally poor; it can tolerate drought but not shade. The

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

is especially suitable for the plant but it can tolerate colder climate (USDA Zone 7B). An article on Nettle tree cultivation is brought down in

Ibn al-'Awwam Ibn al-'Awwam ( ar, ابن العوام), also called Abu Zakariya Ibn al-Awwam ( ar, أبو زكريا بن العوام), was a Muslim Arab agriculturist who flourished at Seville (modern-day southern Spain) in the later 12th century. He wrote ...

's 12th-century agricultural work, ''Book on Agriculture''.

Common names

In different countries, ''Celtis australis'' is known under the following common names: Trade names are: nettle wood, brimji.

Notable trees

A large specimen planted in 1550 stands before the church in the village perché of Fox-Amphoux in the

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border ...

region of southern France. The tree was 18 m in height with a circumference at breast height of 5 m in 2013. In Islamic tradition, hackberry trees are considered holy and amulets made from their wood are employed to exorcise demons. The hackberry trees on the

Temple Mount The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites an ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

are said to be the oldest in the world. The fruit and its effects are described in Tennyson's poem ''The Lotos-Eaters''.

Secondary metabolites

The leaves of ''Celtis australis'' are a rich source of

flavonoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

C-glycosides. Young leaves of ''Celtis australis'' from Northern Italy were found to contain the highest amounts of phenolics per gram dry weight. Amounts rapidly decreased until mid-May and after this date the level of phenolics fluctuated but showed no discernible trend. This general trend of high amounts of phenolics in the early growing season and a fast decline affected both caffeic acid derivatives and

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q255375 australis Flora of the Mediterranean Basin Trees of Mediterranean climate Trees of Africa Trees of Asia Trees of Europe Flora of North Africa Flora of Southwestern Europe Flora of Southeastern Europe Flora of Western Asia Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Plants described in 1753