Carpinus caroliniana American Hornbeam 20′ – 30′. Shrubs are less than 13 feet tall, with multiple stems. GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : American hornbeam is a native, deciduous small tree. It is an understory tree that rarely grows much higher than 20 feet in the wild and often grows in clumps of several trunks. Environmental Characteristics. American Hornbeam, usually called Ironwood in North Carolina, is a fairly common understory tree found mostly along streambanks. It is a small tree with a smooth, light colored, "muscled” bark and alternate, deciduous leaves. Great Places to See American Hornbeam (Musclewood). Hop-hornbeam, any of about seven species of ornamental trees constituting the genus Ostrya of the birch family (Betulaceae), native to Eurasia and North America.A hop-hornbeam has shaggy, scaling bark and thin, translucent, green leaves with hairy leafstalks. Tolerates dry, shady sites. The American Hornbeam has forest green foliage throughout the season. Fruit in long, hanging clusters of paired 3-lobed bracts (modified leaves), with each pair of bracts having a nutlet at its base. European hornbeam has a curved bud. The American Hornbeam has forest green foliage throughout the season. New leaves emerge reddish-purple, changing to dark green, then turn yellow to orange-red in the fall, offering a kaleidoscope of color throughout the year. The smooth, gray, muscular-looking bark of American hornbeam is attractive year-round. The leaves are alternate, 3–12 centimeters (1 ⁄4–4 ⁄4 in) long, with prominent veins giving a distinctive corrugated texture, and a serrated margin. We protect and manage the fish, forest, and wildlife of the state. Flowers April–May; in catkins, with male and female on the same twig. American Hornbeam or Musclewood. American Hornbeam Musclewood. A native tree with striking bark, it can be used in a naturalistic garden. The Eastern Ironwood, known also as the American Hophornbeam, Eastern Hop-hornbeam, Hophornbeam, Ironwood, or Leverwood, stretches over much of the Eastern United States with its attractive foliage and bell-like inflorescences. Bark of the trunk of this tree is light brown in color. It is used for fence posts, fuel, and tool handles. It is a tree that should be planted more in Nebraska and utilized as an understory tree or a specimen tree as it grows well in both sun and shade. It can be found naturally in areas with moist soil including streambanks, riverbanks, and maritime forests. American hornbeam has hard, spherical fruit hanging under leaf-like, 3-lobed bracts. A mid size deciduous tree. Bark is smooth, tight, thin, bluish gray, sometimes blotched, fluted into muscle-like ridges, hence the other common name, “musclewood.”. Ironwood is a tough understory tree with beautiful birch-like leaves, grayish-brown flaky bark, fine-textured drooping branches, and attractive hop-like fruits. Also, it is planted as an ornamental, especially on wet sites. In fall, the American hornbeam displays leaves of various colors, ranging from yellow to scarlet to reddish-purple. Call 1-800-392-1111 to report poaching and arson. A beautiful and underused native woodland tree; very interesting gray bark is almost muscular in appearance, makes a strong winter statement; also excellent blend of fall colors and curious hop-like fruit; good small multipurpose shade tree. Copyright 2020, University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. The seed is eaten by birds, including bobwhite and wild turkey, and the catkins and buds are a primary food source for ruffed grouse. It should be transplanted balled-and- burlapped in the spring. The bark is another feature used to distinguish between these two birches. Light: Part shade Hardy To Zone: 3b Soil Ph: Can tolerate acid to neutral soil (pH 5.0 to 7.4) Moisture Tolerance: Occasionally saturated or very wet soil; Consistently moist, well-drained soil; Occasional periods of dry soil See graphic below Leaves are simple, alternate, 2–5 inches long, 1–2 inches wide, with upper surface bluish green, dull; undersurface paler, mostly smooth, or with hairs in vein axils only, margins with small sharp teeth. This earned it the … Proper maintenance and … Scientific name: Carpinus caroliniana Pronunciation: kar-PYE-nus kair-oh-lin-ee-AY-nuh Common name(s): American hornbeam, blue-beech, ironwood Family: Betulaceae USDA hardiness zones: 3A through 9A (Figure 2) Origin: native to the majority of the eastern United States, southeast Quebec, and southwest Ontario UF/IFAS Invasive Assessment Status: native N-318 Ag Sciences Center University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40546-0091, Fax (Lexington): 859-257-2859       (Princeton): 270-365-2667, For questions about home gardening, landscaping or commercial horticulture production, please contact your county extension agent. Height: 20’ - 30’ Spread: 20’ - 30’ Shape: Round, spreading Site preference: Rich, moist soils Zone: 3b - 9a Wet/dry: Prefers moist soil, but will tolerate some intermittent drought. American Hornbeam is also known as Ironwood, Blue Beech, and Musclewood. Plant in the spring. It is a native understory tree in forests in … The leaves turn dark green in summer and then come ablaze with shades of yellow and orange-red in fall. American hornbeams (Carpinus caroliniana) are by far the most popular of the hornbeams grown in the U.S. Another common name for this tree is blue beech, which comes from the blue-gray color of its bark. Trees are woody plants over 13 feet tall with a single trunk. It is located in Ulster County, New York. Both of the two recognized varieties occur in NC, the northern var. American hornbeams (Carpinus caroliniana) are by far the most popular of the hornbeams grown in the U.S. Another common name for this tree is blue beech, which comes from the blue-gray color of its bark. A native tree with striking bark, it can be used in a naturalistic garden. This tree has interesting reddish brown bark that is broken into narrow strips that are loose at both ends. Hornbeam wood is the hardest of any European trees. American hophornbeam, which loves hilly areas, has papery capsules containing nuts that are eaten by a variety of wildlife including grouse, bobwhite, deer, pheasant, rabbit and turkey. The trunk is often crooked, and is usually coarsely fluted, resembling a flexed muscle [4,7,13].The fruit is a ribbed nutlet 0.16 to 0.24 inch (4-6 mm) long [3,4]. The American Hornbeam has forest green foliage throughout the season. Noteworthy Characteristics Carpinus caroliniana, commonly called American hornbeam, is a slow-growing, deciduous, small to medium-sized understory tree with an attractive globular form. History and Origins of the American Hornbeam. The bark … The bark is smooth and greenish-grey, becoming shallowly fissured in all old trees. The male and female catkinsappear in spring at the same time as the leaves. virginiana (Marshall) Fernald, and the southern var. The American hornbeam is extremely resistant to both pests and diseases, so problems rarely arise. The bark and inner wood was used to treat toothache, sore muscles, coughs, and many other ailments by American Indians. The muscle-like bark is smooth, gray, and fluted. The largest known American hornbeam in the U.S. is 69 feet tall and 2½ feet in diameter. The smooth, gray, muscular-looking bark of American hornbeam is attractive year-round. caroliniana. caroliniana.They are quite similar and many of the trees in the overlap range (such as in Durham County) are intergrades. The tree's look is enhanced by its crooked trunk and pendulous, zig-zagging branches, which help attract wildlife. It is fractured into narrow scales, which are loose at their ends. Its sinewy, smooth gray bark adds real interest, and the leaves are attractive in summer and fall. These plants can ordered online and shipped directly to you or picked up at the nursery. The American hornbeam is a native forest understory tree in the Chicago area, making it useful for shady landscapes and naturalized or woodland gardens. In the wild musclewood is an understory tree featuring distinctive muscle like trunk and branches. Be sure to come in the summer to admire its attractive yellow-green color and festive white flowers. A handsome tree in many locations, the tree slowly reaches a height and spread of 20 to 30 feet. American Hornbeam, usually called Ironwood in North Carolina, is a fairly common understory tree found mostly along streambanks. American Hornbeam, Musclewood, or Ironwood, is a deciduous tree that may grow 30 to feet tall. Plant narrow, upright trees in groups to create a living screen or windbreak. Hornbeam, Carpinus butulus is also referred to as ironwood or musclewood, because of its smooth bark and… Ironwood is considered one of Illinois' toughest native hardwoods and is not only ornamental but resistant to many disease and insect problems. Found nearly throughout the state, except for the northern and eastern sections where trees cover less of the landscape. Like the American hornbeam, trunks have smooth gray bark and distinctive muscle-like fluting. A beautiful and underused native woodland tree; very interesting gray bark is almost muscular in appearance, makes a strong winter statement; also excellent blend of fall colors and curious hop-like fruit; good small multipurpose shade tree. Vines require support or else sprawl over the ground. virginiana (Marshall) Fernald, and the southern var. American Hornbeam Musclewood. Carpinus caroliniana, commonly called American hornbeam, is a slow-growing, deciduous, small to medium-sized understory tree with an attractive globular form.It is native to Missouri where it is typically found in rich moist woods, valleys, ravine bottoms and rocky slopes along streams throughout the eastern and Ozark regions of the state (Steyermark). In fall, the American hornbeam displays leaves of various colors, ranging from yellow to scarlet to reddish-purple. This tree brings interest to the winter landscape, too, by displaying blue-gray bark with a slightly rippled appearance that earned the common name musclewood. American Hornbeam is a great tree for Nebraska because it was selected as the 2016 Great Plants for the Great Plains Tree of the Year. American hornbeam, which is native to Illinois' woodlands, attains heights of 25 to 40 feet when mature. Because it is exceptionally strong and hard, the wood has been made into golf clubs, handles, fuels, cogs, levers, wedges, and more. The university does not review, control or take responsibility for the contents of those sites. It is found in north-facing bluffs, rich woods at bases of bluffs, rocky slopes along streams, ravine bottoms, low wooded valleys, and moist woodlands. American hornbeam has a straight bud. Unlike the Eastern Hophornbeam, the wood of the American Hornbeam decays rapidly when in contact with soil. It usually grows 30 to 40 feet (9-12 m) tall [4,13,32,39].The bark is thin, close, and usually smooth. American hornbeam, also known as musclewood or blue beech, is a small, slow-growing understory tree native to hardwood forests of the eastern US and Canada. Carpinus caroliniana American Hornbeam 20′ – 30′. American hornbeam typically comes from nurseries as a single-stem tree. The fruit is a small 7–8-millimeter ( ⁄32– ⁄16-inch) long nut, parti… For graduate student information, contact Dr. Doug Archbold at 859-257-3352, or darchbol@uky.edu, American Hornbeam - Carpinus carolinianaBirch Family (Betulaceae). The smooth sinewy blue-gray trunk of American hornbeam easily contrasts with the shreddy, brownish, grooved bark of the American hop hornbeam. Ironwood is considered one of Illinois' toughest native hardwoods and is not only ornamental but resistant to many disease and insect problems. Click here, then click on your county either on the map or from the list of counties below it. The American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) is native to America, occurring naturally from Minnesota to Maine and south to Florida and east Texas. The tree is perhaps best known for its smooth and sinewy steel-gray bark and the muscle-like look of its maturing trunk and larger branches (thus one of its common names). Still, the wood is hard and tough and is used in making tool handles and small wooden articles. An Equal Opportunity University. WARNING: Some websites to which these materials provide links for the convenience of users are not managed by the University of Kentucky. Send mail to cgcass0@uky.edu with questions about this site. A North American native tree boasting a kaleidoscope of color, American hornbeam unfurls striking reddish purple leaves in spring. The leaves are alternate with a doubly toothed margin. For undergraduate student information regarding the Sustainable Agriculture program, contact Dr. Krista Jacobsen at (859) 257-3921, or krista.jacobsen@uky.edu. Both of the two recognized varieties occur in NC, the northern var. American hornbeam, which is native to Illinois' woodlands, attains heights of 25 to 40 feet when mature. Hornbeam - Confidence Genus: Carpinus. It is a small tree with a smooth, light colored, "muscled” bark and alternate, deciduous leaves. This deciduous, medium-sized tree matures to 40-60’ tall and 30-40’ wide at a growth rate of about 12-24” per year. American hornbeam is a common indicator plant of Missouri’s upland forests. A beautiful and underused native woodland tree; very interesting gray bark is almost muscular in appearance, makes a strong winter statement; also excellent blend of fall colors and curious hop-like fruit; good small multipurpose shade tree. Family: Betulaceae. Ironwood is a tough understory tree with beautiful birch-like leaves, grayish-brown flaky bark, fine-textured drooping branches, and attractive hop-like fruits. Site design : Academic Web Pages. There are no sharp dividing lines between trees, shrubs, and woody vines, or even between woody and nonwoody plants. Hornbeam Varieties. Deer browse this tree's twigs and foliage. History and Origins of the American Hornbeam. Noteworthy Characteristics. Both young and aged bark … Left to grow naturally your tree will develop a beautiful form, with attractive bark and a dense, rounded crown. March 11, 2016 Carpinus caroliniana. The tree's look is enhanced by its crooked trunk and pendulous, zig-zagging branches, which help attract wildlife. Ornamental Features. Source: Commons Shippable Sizes. “Wood” is a type of tissue made of cellulose and lignin that many plants develop as they mature — whether they are “woody” or not. This gives the trunk a shredded look. A mid size deciduous tree. Source: Commons An American Hornbeam growing in its native environment. This site was last updated on December 18, 2020. The attractive bark on a young American Hornbeam Source: Commons An attractive mature tree in the wild. However, hornbeam trees can develop cankers, or dead sections on the bark or branches. Most cultivars of American hornbeam are columnar in shape when they are young, then develop a pyramidal shape as they age. 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