Spiny hackberry, or granjeno, is a native, cool-season perennial shrub reaching 4 to 15 feet tall. Growing along its stems are characteristic thorns that are sharp, heavy, unequal and paired. Its smooth, gray branches zigzag between the thorns.

How do I identify a hackberry tree?

Common hackberry is easily identified by its distinctive corky, knobby bark. Young trees are smooth, and as the tree matures, the bark forms these distinctive knobs and then ridges. Hackberry nipple galls form as the larvae of hackberry nipple gall psyllids feed within the leaves. They are very common.

Why are hackberry trees bad?

Hackberry is easy to recognize by its silvery-gray bark encrusted with warty ridges. ... The worst thing about hackberry is that woolly aphids feeding on the leaves drip sticky honeydew. Sooty mold grows on the honeydew, blackening absolutely everything under the tree.