Celtis sinensis Persoon, Cannabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Celtis japonica Planch.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: po shu

English: Chinese elm, Chinese hackberry, Japanese hackberry

Habit:  tree

Description:  "A large deciduous tree to 20 m; bark smooth, gray.  Leaves chartaceous, ovate to ovate-oblong, obtuse to acute, obliquely broad-cuneate at base, entire to crenate-serrate toward the base, dark green and smooth above, glabrous and slightly glaucous beneath, 3-nerved at base, the lateral veins 3-4 per side; petioles about 1 cm long.  Flowers solitary, axillary on young branchlets, the pedicels about 3 mm long, perianth parts glabrous, ciliate along the margins.  Fruit solitary, ovoid, 7-9 mm long, 4-5 mm thick, dark orange, becoming black when mature; pedicels about 1 cm long" (Li et al., 1976; pp. 109, 111).

Habitat/ecology:  "Appears to favour clay soils associated with alluvial creek-flats and gullies, especially riparian habitats and other open areas where the original forest has been cleared or disturbed".  The plant has naturalised throughout most of south-east Queensland, where it has formed dense infestations along creek-banks.  At some locations near Ipswich (30 km west of Brisbane) it appears to be preventing regeneration of riparian vegetation." (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; p. 149).

In Taiwan, "in thickets at low altitudes" (Li et al., 1976; pp. 109, 111).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  South China and Taiwan to Korea and Japan (Li et al., 1976; pp. 109, 111).

Presence:

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011) Naturalized
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 149) Widely cultivated as a garden plant/shade tree/street tree.
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Australian Biological Resources Study (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) "Roadsides, slopes; 100-1500 m".
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 58)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011) Naturalized
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Control: 

Physical:  Hand pull or dig out seedlings and young trees.

Chemical:  Cut larger trees and treat the stumps with herbicide (Weber, 2003; p. 93).

Additional information:
Fact sheet from U.S. Forest Service (PDF).
Information from Australia National Weeds Strategy.
Fact sheet from the Government of Queensland, Australia. (PDF format).

Additional online information about Celtis sinensis is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Celtis sinensis as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Celtis sinensis may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Australian Biological Resources Study. 2011. Flora of Australia Online. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Li, Hui-lin/Liu, Tang-shui/Huang, Tseng-chieng/Koyama, Tetsuo/DeVol, Charles E., eds. 1976. Flora of Taiwan, Volume 2. Epoch Pub. Co., Taipei. 722 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).