Carpinus caroliniana
Common name:
American Hornbeam
Pronunciation:
kar-PI-nus ka-ro-lin-i-A-na
Family:
Betulaceae
Genus:
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Broadleaf, deciduous tree, 20-30 ft (6-9 m), often multi-stemmed, wide spreading, at maturity flat or round-topped. Leaves alternate, simple, ovate-oblong, 6-13 cm long, acuminate, sharply and doubly serrate, dark green in summer, yellowish, orange, to red in fall. Male and female flowers in separate clusters (catkins) on the same tree. Female flowers have conspicuous 3-lobed leaf-like bracts. Fruit is a small ribbed nutlet, enclosed by 3-lobed bract, borne in pairs.
- Sun to shade, an understory tree, tolerates a wide range of soil conditions. Found along streams and rivers in its native range where it tolerates periodic flooding.
- Hardy to USDA Zone 3b Nova Scotia to Minnesota, south to Florida and Texas.
- Oregon State Univ. campus: east of West Hall, along service road.
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