Ironwood Carpinus caroliniana

Other Common Name(s):

Other plants called Ironwood:

Phonetic Spelling

kar-PINE-us kair-oh-lin-ee-AN-uh

Description

American hornbeam is a deciduous tree in the Betulaceae (beech) family native to the eastern U.S.A. It can be found naturally in areas with moist soil including streambanks, riverbanks, and maritime forests. The common name musclewood comes from the appearance of the smooth bark with bumps underneath resembling musles.

This medium sized tree may grow slowly 20 to 30 to feet tall and 20 to 35 feet wide. The leaves are alternate with a doubly toothed margin and turn an attractive orange-red color in the fall. In early spring, yellow-green, male and fuzzy, yellow-green, female flowers mature. The small tree produces a small, ribbed nutlet that is carried by a 3-lobed leafy bract. The American Hornbeam is a short, stubby tree that can have one or more trunks, each a foot wide and aesthetically pleasing. The bark is bluish-gray, thin, fairly smooth, and heavily fluted.

Plant in sandy or clay loams with high organic matter, regular moisture and slightly acidic soils. Does well in heavy shade and is found as an understory tree in forests. It is difficult to transplant and best moved in spring. This plant is moderately resistant to damage from deer but is especially sensitive to drought, heat, and soil compaction.

The extremely hard wood of this tree will, as the common name suggests, take a horn-like polish and was once used by early Americans to make bowls, tool handles, and ox yokes. Commercial use of hornbeam wood is not practical, however, due to the limited amount of wood per tree.

Use this adaptable tree in naturalized areas or along streams or ponds as well as in urban settings. This is a wildlife friendly tree perfect for a pollinator, children's, or native garden acting as a larval host plant, food source for mammals and birds, and a cover plant. It is tolerant of drier sites, some sun, wind, and periodic flooding making it a candidate for a rain garden.

Quick ID Hints:

alternate leaves, simple
older bark is slate gray with muscle appearance
leaves weakly doubly serrate, parallel veins
inverted pins
fruits a nutlet on 3-lobed bract, lobes basal

Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems: Leaf spots, cankers, and twig blight are occasional disease problems of the American hornbeam.

See this plant in the following landscape:

Cultivars / Varieties:

'J.N. Upright' or 'Firespire'
Columnar form, 20' tall 10' wide
'Walter'

'J.N. Upright' or 'Firespire', 'Walter'

Tags:

#deciduous #wildlife plant #slow growing #native tree #cover plant #shelter for wildlife #fall interest #understory tree #street tree #stream banks #pond margins #food source wildlife #cpp #wind tolerant #fire low flammability #NC native #buffer #ponds #children's garden #playground plant #edible fruits #naturalizes #screening #pollinator plant #Braham Arboretum #fantz #nesting sites #food source fall #food source herbage #Coastal FAC #Piedmont Mountains FAC #urban conditions tolerant #wet soils tolerant #bird friendly #food source hard mast fruit #butterfly friendly #fall color orange-red #heat intolerant #drought intolerant #eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly #red-spotted purple butterfly #storm damage resistant

Carpinus caroliniana — Whole plant Jim Robbins CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

american hornbeam brunswick nature park skdavidson — form in winter Brunswick Nature Park skdavidson CC-BY-SA 2.0 NC Cooperative Extension and NHC Arboretum

Underside of leaf Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0

Male catkin Phillip Bouchard CC BY-NC-ND 2.0