The leaves are alternate, simple, 2-5 inches long, with strongly unequal bases and a sharply tapering tip. The leaf margin is toothed except near the base, lustrous to dull green above, with a fine network of veins below. The twigs are slender, zigzag in appearance, light olive-brown in color with prominent lenticels. The pith of the twigs are usually chambered near the buds or nodes with small half-round leaf scars with usually three bundle scars. Hackberry has high wildlife value because the fruit persists into the late winter months.
Hackberry is native throughout Iowa.
Hackberry grows in a wide variety of sites from dry and droughty to moderately moist to wet lowland sites. It probably does best on the moist sites and its common associates include green ash, silver maple, cottonwood, boxelder on bottomland sites and elms, walnut, and sugar maple on upland sites. In Iowa, hackberry has two minor pest problems. Hackberry nipple gall, which are nipple-shaped outgrowths caused by a small insect are often unsightly but cause no damage to the tree. Hackberry also is susceptible to witches broom, a proliferation of small branches, also probably insect induced.