Amazing Trees

 American Hornbeam

Scientific Classification

Scientific Name  - Carpinus caroliniana

Domain                - Eukaryota

Kingdom              - Plantae

Phylum                 - Tracheophyta

Class                     - Tracheophytes

Order                    - Fagales

Family                  - Betulaceae

Genus                   - Carpinus

Species                 - C.caroliniana

Carpinus caroliniana, the American hornbeam, is a small hardwood tree in the genus Carpinus.  American hornbeam is also known as blue beech, ironwood, musclewood, and muscle beech.  American hornbeam is a slow growing, understory tree with an attractive, natural, rounded form growing, 15 -30 tall and wide. The smooth, gray trunk and larger branches of a mature tree exhibit a distinctive muscle like fluting. 

It is native to eastern North America, from Minnesota and southern Ontario east to Marine, and south to eastern Texas and Northern Florida. Tree size : 20 to 40 feet tall, 20 to 30 feet wide. Growth rate is slow, about 1 foot a year. Flowers are green catkins and bloom from April until June. The  American hornbeam can be grown as a multi-stemmed shrub or as a single-stemmed tree. It is more narrow and upright than the European hornbeam. The  American hornbeam grows slowly, about 12 per year, reaching an average height and spread of 20 - 30 over a life span of 50 - 150 years.

The  American hornbeam is extremely resistant to both pests and diseases, so problems rarely arise. However, hornbeam trees can develop cankers or dead sections on the bark or branches. They can present with leaf scorch or leaf spots. Proper maintenance and appropriate water amounts should prevent this.

It is whitish, extremely hard and heavy and has been used for making mallet heads, tool handles, levers, and other small, hard, wooden objects. The wood is not subject to cracking or splitting and was used by  American pioneers for bowls and dishes.

 American hornbeam is an important food of gray squirrels in southern bottom-land hardwoods; otherwise it is of secondary importance to wildlife. Seeds, buds, or catkins are eaten by a number of songbirds, ruffed grouse, ring-necked pheasants, bobwhite, turkey, fox and gray squirrels. 

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