Carpinus
caroliniana Walter var. caroliniana
Common
names: American hornbeam, blue beech, coastal American hornbeam,
ironwood, musclewood.
Synonyms: Carpinus americana A. Michaux, Carpinus
caroliniana Walter, Carpinus caroliniana Walter ssp. caroliniana,
Carpinus caroliniana Walter ssp. virginiana (Marshall)
Furlow, Carpinus caroliniana Walter var. virginiana
(Marshall) Fernald.
Family: Betulaceae.
Brief
description:
A small, deciduous tree, usually ranging from 4–15 m (13–50 ft.) tall
when fully grown. Bark of mature trunks is gray and smooth, sometimes
roughened, often with a fluted or sinewy appearance. Leaves are alternate,
elliptic to ovate or oblong-ovate in shape, usually with doubly serrate
margins. Flowers are in catkins, with separate male and female catkins
on the same tree. Fruits are small (4–9 mm long), brown or tan nuts,
each pair of nuts subtended by a conspicuous, three-lobed, leafy bract.
American hornbeam is typically an understory tree, most often found
in bottomland forests, swamps, or along rivers and streams throughout
much of the eastern United States. The sinewy appearance of the trunk
accounts for one of its common names, musclewood.
USDA
Profile
Herbarium
sheet images:
Live
specimen images:
Branchlet
with leaves Individual
leaf Branchlet
with leaf buds Close-up
of leaf buds Branchlet
with flower buds Close-up
of flower buds