Hornbeam
(Carpinus betulus)
Family – Corylaceae
Description – A beautiful deciduous tree which is frequently confused with Beech.
Height – 30m.
Age – Max. 150 years.
Habitat – Prefers low lying rich soils or clays and is shade tolerant. Can be coppiced
or pollarded and is good for hedges.
Timber – Hard, tough, heavy. Green-white and
Closely grained
Bark – Grey. Initially smooth with metallic-blue
and pale brown veins, later with vertical black
fissures.
Twig – Fine, slight zigzag, brown with sparse hairs.
Buds – Twin-hugging, slim; brown/green with
Overlapping scales.
Flowers – Dropping male catkins with yellow stamens and brown bracts. Short
female catkins at apex. Crimson styles and leafy bracts.
Fruit – Clusters with up to 16 small, oval ribbed nuts, each at the base of a large
papery, three-lobed, green bract which turns yellow-brown by the autumn.
Leaves – Not quite flat with approximately 15 pairs of prominent, impressed side
veins, initially downy below and dark green above and a slight gloss. Short redbrown petiole. Hedge plants and young trees retain russet-coloured leaves over
winter.
The Tree Year
Flowers
Leaves
Fruit
Ripen
Leaves fall
-
March
April/May
September
October/November
November/April
Food and Drink – The nuts are attractive to birds.
Uses – Butchers’ chopping blocks, shoe lasts, skittles, wooden screws, industrial cogs
and pulleys. Fuel for bakers’ ovens. Good firewood and for producing charcoal.