Carpinus caroliniana

"Blue beech" redirects here. For Japanese blue beech, see Fagus japonica.
Carpinus caroliniana
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Betulaceae
Genus: Carpinus
Species: C. caroliniana
Binomial name
Carpinus caroliniana
Walter
Natural range of C. caroliniana
Synonyms[1]
  • Carpinus americanus Michx.
  • Carpinus ostryoides Raf.

Carpinus caroliniana (American hornbeam) is a small hardwood tree in the genus Carpinus. American hornbeam is also known as blue-beech, ironwood, and musclewood. It is native to eastern North America, from Minnesota and southern Ontario east to Maine, and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida. It also grows in Canada (southwest Quebec and southeast Ontario).[2][3]

Description

Bark

American hornbeam is a small tree reaching heights of 10–15 meters (35–50 ft), rarely 20 meters (65 ft), and often has a fluted and crooked trunk. The bark is smooth and greenish-grey, becoming shallowly fissured in all old trees. The leaves are alternate, 3–12 centimeters (1 144 34 in) long, with prominent veins giving a distinctive corrugated texture, and a serrated margin. The male and female catkins appear in spring at the same time as the leaves. The fruit is a small 7–8-millimeter (932516-inch) long nut, partially surrounded by a three- to seven-pointed leafy involucre 2–3 centimeters (341 14 in) long; it matures in autumn. The seeds often do not germinate till the spring of the second year after maturating.

Subdivisions

There are two subspecies, which intergrade extensively where they meet:

Ecology

Fruit

It is a shade-loving tree, which prefers moderate soil fertility and moisture. It has a shallow, wide-spreading root system. The leaves are eaten by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera, for example the Io moth (Automeris io).

Common along the borders of streams and swamps, loves a deep moist soil. Varies from shrub to small tree, and ranges throughout the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.


Uses

The wood is heavy and hard, and is used for tool handles, longbows, walking sticks, walking canes and golf clubs.


References

  1. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  2. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. Metzger, F. T. (1990). "Carpinus caroliniana". In Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H. Hardwoods. Silvics of North America. Washington, D.C.: United States Forest Service (USFS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 2 via Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry (www.na.fs.fed.us).
  4. Keeler, Harriet L. (1900). Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them. New York: Charles Scriber's Sons. pp. 319–322.
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