The plant around us. Volume 1 The plant around us. Volume I | Page 40

Celtis australis English: Hackeberry Spanish: Almez Estonian: Harilik tseltis Turkish: Çitlembik It is a kind of deciduous tree that usually reaches 20 or 25 meters in height, inhabits ravines and hillsides in the bands farthest from the banks, rivers and streams. Its bark is gray and smooth. This tree is more common in cooler climates Flowers Its flowers are white very inconspicuous, have no petals and are only formed by 5 sepals. Its wind-pollinated flowers are hermaphrodite (having both male and female organs), small and green, either singly or in small clusters. Fruit Leaves Its leaves, 5 to 15 cm long, are alternate, petiolate, ovo-lanceolate and delicately sawn, with no petiole The fruit, called almeza, is edible and has a pleasant flavor, almost black on the outside and yellow on the inside at maturity, with a bone the size of a peppercorn. It flowers between March and April, and its fruits mature at the end of summer or in autumn.