Common Name:
Hophornbeam
About 9 species of deciduous trees. Leaves simple, alternate, in two rows, parallel veins, margins serrate or dentate. Male flower catkins are Carpinus- or Betula-like, but form in fall. Female flowers in terminal short spikes or catkins, 3-12 pairs of flowers, each pair subtended by a bract and each flower in a sac-like husk, which inflates on fruiting giving the cluster a hop-like appearance. Native to Europe, Asia, and North America.
Ostrya: Greek for shell, a reference to the inflated husk of the fruit.
Pronunciation:
OS-tri-a
Family:
Betulaceae, Carpinaceae