American Hornbeam, Hornbeam, Blue Beech, Ironwood, Musclewood, Water Beech, Muscle-beech, Smooth-barked Ironwood Carpinus caroliniana

Detailed Listing For

Botanical Name:

Carpinus caroliniana

Family:

Betulaceae

Genus:

Carpinus

Species:

caroliniana

Common Name:

American Hornbeam, Hornbeam, Blue Beech, Ironwood, Musclewood, Water Beech, Muscle-beech, Smooth-barked Ironwood

Height:

30-45 feet

Minimum Hardiness Zone:

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Carpinus caroliniana

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Characteristics

Urban Tolerant Plant

Growing Info, follow in order:

Scarification: Soak in water, let stand in water for 24 hours.

Stratification: cold stratify for 90 days.

Germination: sow seed 1/8" deep, tamp the soil, mulch the seed bed.

Other: fall sowing in mulched beds is prefered to artificial stratification.

In a Nutshell:

* 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), Mexico (central and southern), Guatemala, and western Honduras.

* The bark is smooth and greenish-grey, becoming shallowly fissured in old trees.

*

It is a shade-loving tree, which prefers moderate soil fertility and moisture. It has a shallow, wide-spreading root system. more...

* Too small to be exploited commercially, this high quality wood is often used locally for flooring, cogs, tool handles, golf clubs etc. It is especially suitable for making levers and is also a good fuel. more...

Wiki description:

[ edit ] Description 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. Bark: On old trees near the base, furrowed. Young trees and branches smooth, dark bluish gray, sometimes furrowed, light and dark gray. Branchlets at first pale green, changing to reddish brown, ultimately dull gray. Wood: Light brown, sapwood nearly white; heavy, hard, close-grained, very strong. Used for levers, handles of tools. Sp. gr., 0.7286; weight 45.41 lbs. Winter buds: Ovate, acute, chestnut brown, one-eighth of an inch long. Inner scales enlarge when spring growth begins. No terminal bud is formed. Leaves: Alternate, two to four inches long, ovate-oblong, rounded, wedge-shaped, or rarely subcordate and often unequal at base, sharply and doubly serrate, acute or acuminate. They come out of the bud pale bronze green and hairy; when full grown they are dull deep green above, paler beneath; feather-veined, midrib and veins very prominent on under side. In autumn bright red, deep scarlet and orange. Petioles short, slender, hairy. Stipules caducous. Flowers: April. Monœcious, apetalous, the staminate naked in pendulous aments. The staminate ament buds are axillary and form in the autumn and during the winter resemble leaf-buds, only twice as large; these aments begin to lengthen very early in the spring, when full grown are about one and one-half inches long. The staminate flower is composed of three to twenty stamens crowded on a hairy torus, adnate to the base of a broadly ovate, acute boot-shaped scale, green below the middle, bright red at apex. The pistillate aments are one-half to three-fourths of an inch long with ovate, acute, hairy, green scales and bright scarlet styles. Fruit: Clusters of involucres, hanging from the ends of leafy branches. Each involucre slightly incloses a small oval nut. The involucres are short stalked, usually three-lobed, though one lobe is often wanting; halberd-shaped, coarsely serrate on one margin, or entire. [ 2 ]

Pfaf description:

Physical Characteristics Â Carpinus caroliniana is a deciduous Tree growing to 12 m (39ft) by 10 m (32ft) at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower from Apr to May, and the seeds ripen in November. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind. The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil.The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. and can grow in very alkaline soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.It requires moist soil.

Usda description:

More info on http://plants.usda.gov

Usda description:

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American Hornbeam, Hornbeam, Blue Beech, Ironwood, Musclewood, Water Beech, Muscle-beech, Smooth-barked Ironwood Carpinus caroliniana

Carpinus caroliniana

Betulaceae

Carpinus

caroliniana

American Hornbeam, Hornbeam, Blue Beech, Ironwood, Musclewood, Water Beech, Muscle-beech, Smooth-barked Ironwood

Carpinus caroliniana

Privacy Screen/Windbreak

Shade Tolerant Plant

Specimen Tree

Bonsai

Plant with Winter Interest

Fall Color

Hedge Plant

Urban Tolerant Plant