| Section 6 » Family Cannabaceae |
Show/Hide Synonym
| taxonName | relationship | relatedTaxonName | relatedTaxonRefText | relComments |
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| Celtis smallii | < | Celtis laevigata | Gleason and Cronquist (1991) | | | Celtis smallii | < | Celtis laevigata | Flora of North America (1993b, 1997, 2000, 2002a, 2002b, 2003a, 2004b, 2005, 2006a, 2006b, 2006c, 2007a, 2009, 2010) | | | Celtis smallii | < | Celtis laevigata | Gleason (1952) | | | Celtis smallii | < | Celtis laevigata | Godfrey and Wooten (1979, 1981) | | | Celtis smallii | < | Celtis laevigata | | | | Celtis smallii | < | Celtis laevigata | Radford, Ahles, and Bell (1968) | | | Celtis smallii | < | Celtis laevigata | | | | Celtis smallii | < | Celtis laevigata | Flora of Virginia | | | Celtis smallii | < | Celtis laevigata | Wofford (1989) | | | Celtis smallii | < | Celtis laevigata | Wunderlin & Hansen Flora of Florida (3) | | | Celtis smallii | = | Celtis laevigata var. smallii | Fernald (1950) | | | Celtis smallii | = | Celtis laevigata var. smallii | Todzia in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993). Key based in part on Mo. | | | Source: Weakley's Flora |
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| Author | Beadle | |
| Distribution | Very poorly known, as this is a recent split as a full species. Weakley’s (2018) map shows it as “common” in the Piedmont but “rare” in the Mountains and Coastal Plain. The SERNEC listing gives specimens for 10 counties, though it seems that only UNCC has gone through its collections of C. laevigata to determine which are C. smallii. The iNaturalist website shows a handful records for the state, all from the Piedmont. The range map (below) is quite incomplete at the present time.
Weakley (2018) gives the range as “VA and KY south to GA and AL, mainly inland.” | |
| Abundance | Seemingly fairly common to locally common in the Piedmont and rare elsewhere, but specific abundance details are not yet known. The suggested State Rank of S4? is based mostly on the apparent abundance in the Piedmont. | |
| Habitat | Weakley (2018) says “Glades, woodlands, forests.” This habitat description suggests that the species may be more often found in uplands, and in high pH conditions, than the very similar C. laevigata, which is clearly a wetland species found mainly in bottomlands. It appears that such more-serrated leaved plants -- i.e., this species -- grow in mesic to rich uplands or at the outer/upper edges of floodplains, and are not so strongly found along the margins of rivers and levees as is C. laevigata. As such, C. smallii is more often found on the edges of hardwood forests more so than is the other species. |
| Phenology | Flowers in April and May, and fruits from August to October (Weakley 2018). | |
| Identification | This deciduous tree seems very similar to the familiar Sugarberry (C. laevigata), except that that species has primarily entire leaves or leaves that are rather remotely serrated. Weakley (2018) indicates that the separating character between C. smallii and C. laevigata are that “Leaves subtending fruits with margins with 2-15 teeth 1-2 mm long on each side” for C. smallii, versus “Leaves subtending fruits with margins entire or with 1-2 teeth 0.5-1 mm long on one side only (leaves of juvenile plants or of vigorous leader shoots may be more strongly toothed)” for C. laevigata. Based on photos on the iNaturalist website, C. smallii should have more serrated leaves, obvious at a little distance, whereas C. laevigata leaves are generally entire or only very slightly or minutely serrated. It might be difficult to find leaves that subtend fruits, however; thus, can normal leaves be used for separation? | |
| Taxonomic Comments | Very few references other than Weakley (2018) have this taxon split out as a good species; as this website follows his taxonomic treatment, C. smallii is given a species account here. The iNaturalist website does give this taxon a full species designation.
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| Other Common Name(s) | None? | |
| State Rank | [S4?] | |
| Global Rank | GNA | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
