American hornbeam is native to eastern North America. Its white, very hard wood was prized for
ox yokes and tool handles by American colonists, though the relatively small
size of the trees limits its commercial use today.
Hornbeam and hophornbeam are unrelated and quite different in appearance:
Plants: Trees reach 33-49′ (10-15 m) (rarely 66′ (20 m) in height, and often have multiple stems. Bark is smooth, dark bluish gray, furrowed near the base in older trees. The trunks are often fluted with vertical depressions that look a little like rippling muscles.
Leaves: Dark green, alternate, 1-4½″ (3-12 cm) long, with prominent parallel veins and fine serrations or double serrations.
Flowers: Female flowers are white; male are green—both occur on the same tree.
Fruits: A small ribbed nut ¼-5/16″ (7-8 mm) long, surrounded by a three- to seven-pointed leaf group called an involucre, ¾-1″ (2-3 cm) long. The involucres occur in clusters, and remain on the tree after
other leaves drop in the fall.
Small tree, to 20-30′ (6.1-9.1 m). Bark reddish brown to gray brown, in loose strips.
Trees reach 33-49′ (10-15 m), and often have multiple stems. Bark is smooth, dark bluish gray, furrowed near the base in older trees. The trunks are often fluted with vertical depressions that look a little like rippling muscles.
Flowers
Male catkins are ¾-1¾″ (2-5 cm) long; female catkins are ¼-½″ (8-15 mm) long
Female flowers are white; male are green—both occur on the same tree.
Leaves
Unlobed, alternating, 1¾-5″ (5-13 cm) × 1½-2″ (4-6 cm), with double serrations on the edges. Tops are yellow-green, bottoms are pale green.
Dark green, alternate, 1-4½″ (3-12 cm) long, with prominent parallel veins and fine serrations or double serrations.
Fruit
Brown nuts 1/16-3/16″ (3-5 mm) long, in conelike drooping clusters enclosed in white papery sacs.
A small ribbed nut ¼-5/16″ (7-8 mm) long, surrounded by a three- to seven-pointed leaf group called an involucre, ¾-1″ (2-3 cm) long. The involucres occur in clusters, and remain on the tree after other leaves drop.
Range/ Zones
USDA Zones: 3-9
USDA Zones: 3-9
Habitats
River banks, swamp edges, flood plains, in fertile soil, both moist and dry
Rich wet soils such as floodplains, swamps, or mucks
Type
Wild
Wild
1/1/2012 · Big Tree Trail • Tudor Richards Natural History and Forest Trail, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 12 × 17″ (29 × 44 cm)
1/1/2012 · Big Tree Trail • Tudor Richards Natural History and Forest Trail, Hollis, New Hampshire
6/13/2011 · Great Falls State Park, Washington, DC · ≈ 11 × 7″ (27 × 18 cm)
6/13/2011 · Great Falls State Park, Washington, DC · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm)
1/1/2012 · Big Tree Trail • Tudor Richards Natural History and Forest Trail, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 12 × 17″ (29 × 44 cm)
6/28/2017 · Andres Art Institute, Big Bear Mountain, Brookline, New Hampshire · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm)
Hornbeams don’t have acorns!!! Looks like the acorns fell from another tree. · 9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm)
7/27/2016 · State Arboretum of Virginia, Boyce, Virginia
Carpinus caroliniana description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 5 Sep 2023.