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Chinese Hackberry

Celtis sinensis · Cannabaceae
20m
Mature height
8
Councils: no permit needed
3
Councils: exempt under a height limit
9
Councils: permit required
Chinese Hackberry (Celtis sinensis) growing in Sydney
Chinese Hackberry · typical mature form

Do you need a permit?

Chinese Hackberry is exempt in some councils and protected in others, and several exemptions carry a height limit. Check the table below against the council for your address before assuming a permit is not needed.

How to identify it

Leaves with a distinctly lopsided base and teeth only on the upper half of the margin, which is the key identifier. Smooth grey bark, often with corky warts on older trunks. Small orange brown fruit.

Where it grows in Sydney

A significant environmental weed through the Inner West, City of Sydney, Georges River, Canterbury-Bankstown and the Lane Cove valley, spreading along creek lines and rail corridors.

Common problems

  • Aggressive environmental weed spread by birds
  • Suckers and seeds prolifically across fence lines
  • Roots lift paving and damage drains
  • Grows rapidly into a large canopy tree in confined spaces

What removal involves

Exempt in most councils covered here, with City of Sydney and Woollahra capping it at 10m and Georges River at 6m. Seedling follow up is usually needed because established trees seed heavily into surrounding gardens.

Council permit rules, council by council

Status below is for a tree on private land that has passed the council’s size threshold. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas, significant tree registers, biodiversity mapping and conditions of development consent override every exemption shown here.
Council
Status
What it means
Northern Beaches
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
Ku-ring-gai
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
Hornsby Shire
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
The Hills Shire
Confirm with Council
Council holds its species exemptions in a document rather than on its website, so confirm this species with Council before treating removal as exempt. Size thresholds apply in the meantime. Official rules
Blacktown City
Permit required
Council does not run a species exemption list. A permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold, and each tree is assessed on its own merits. Official rules
North Sydney
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
Willoughby
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Lane Cove
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
City of Ryde
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
Hunters Hill
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
City of Sydney
Exempt under 10m
Exempt only below 10m in height. At or above that size a tree permit is required. Heritage listings override the exemption. Official rules
Inner West
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Woollahra
Exempt under 10m
Exempt only below 10m in height. At or above that size a tree permit is required. Heritage listings override the exemption. Official rules
Waverley
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
Randwick
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
Bayside
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Georges River
Exempt under 6m
Exempt only below 6m in height. At or above that size a tree permit is required. Heritage listings override the exemption. Official rules
Strathfield
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Burwood
Confirm with Council
Council holds its species exemptions in a document rather than on its website, so confirm this species with Council before treating removal as exempt. Size thresholds apply in the meantime. Official rules
Canterbury-Bankstown
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
How do I tell Hackberry from an elm?

The lopsided leaf base is shared, but Hackberry has teeth only on the upper half of the leaf margin while elms are toothed along the full edge. Hackberry also carries small orange brown fruit rather than papery seed discs.

Commonly confused with

Mulberry
Both have lopsided leaf bases and berry fruit, and both are frequently self sown along fence lines

Related species

Mulberry (Morus nigra) growing in Sydney
Mulberry
Morus nigra
Evergreen Alder (Alnus jorullensis) growing in Sydney
Evergreen Alder
Alnus jorullensis
African Olive (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata) growing in Sydney
African Olive
Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata
Athel Tree (Tamarix aphylla) growing in Sydney
Athel Tree
Tamarix aphylla

Important note on council rules

This encyclopedia is a practical guide for Sydney property owners, not legal advice. Council tree rules change, and exemptions are frequently overridden by heritage listings, heritage conservation areas, significant tree registers, biodiversity mapping, endangered ecological communities and conditions attached to development consent. Always confirm the current rules with your council for your specific address before any tree work begins, or ask us to check it for you.

Quick facts

Botanical name
Celtis sinensis
Also known as
Hackberry, Nettle Tree, Chinese Nettle Tree
Family
Cannabaceae
Origin
East Asia
Mature height
10m to 20m
Canopy spread
10m to 18m
Growth rate
Fast
Foliage
Deciduous, asymmetric base, serrated upper half
Typical lifespan
80 years plus
Root habit
Aggressive and suckering
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