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Ostrya virginiana (Mill.) K. Koch

Eastern hophornbeam, ironwood, hophornbeam, hop-hornbeam

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassMagnoliopsidaDicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
SubclassRosidaeRoses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
OrderFagalesBirch, she-oak, beech, walnut, bayberry, others
FamilyBetulaceaeBirch family: birches, alders, hazels, hornbeams and hop-hornbeams
GenusOstryaFrom the Greek word ostrua, “bone-like,” referring to the very hard wood
Speciesvirginiana“From Virginia”

About plant names...

The "hop" in hophornbeam comes from the resemblance between its fruits and those of hops. Hophornbeam and hornbeam are both named for their extremely durable wood, the only woods strong enough to make yokes for oxen, but they have little else in common and are not related.

Plants: Trees are 20-30′ (6.1-9.1 m) in height, with loose strips of peeling bark that is reddish- to gray-brown.

Leaves: Unlobed, alternate, 1¾-5″ (5-13 cm) × 1½-2″ (4-6 cm), with double serrations on the edges. Leaf tops are yellow-green, bottoms pale green.

Flowers: Catkins, narrow drooping structures. Male catkins are ¾-1¾″ (2-5 cm) long; female catkins are ¼-½″ (8-15 mm) long.

Fruits: Brown nuts 1/16-3/16″ (3-5 mm) long, in conelike drooping clusters enclosed in white papery sacs.

Hornbeam and hophornbeam are unrelated and quite different in appearance:

 

Ostrya virginiana (Eastern hophornbeam, ironwood, hophornbeam, hop-hornbeam)

6/22/2017 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm)

Ostrya virginiana (Eastern hophornbeam, ironwood, hophornbeam, hop-hornbeam)

7/24/2023 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine

Ostrya virginiana (Eastern hophornbeam, ironwood, hophornbeam, hop-hornbeam)

1/1/2012 · Big Tree Trail • Tudor Richards Natural History and Forest Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

  You are here
Ostrya virginiana

Carpinus caroliniana
Common Name

Eastern hophornbeam

American hornbeam
Plant Small tree, to 20-30′ (6.1-9.1 m). Bark reddish brown to gray brown, in loose strips. Trees reach 33-49′ (10-15 m), and often have multiple stems. Bark is smooth, dark bluish gray, furrowed near the base in older trees. The trunks are often fluted with vertical depressions that look a little like rippling muscles.
Flowers Male catkins are ¾-1¾″ (2-5 cm) long; female catkins are ¼-½″ (8-15 mm) long Female flowers are white; male are green—both occur on the same tree.
Leaves Unlobed, alternating, 1¾-5″ (5-13 cm) × 1½-2″ (4-6 cm), with double serrations on the edges. Tops are yellow-green, bottoms are pale green. Dark green, alternate, 1-4½″ (3-12 cm) long, with prominent parallel veins and fine serrations or double serrations.
Fruit Brown nuts 1/16-3/16″ (3-5 mm) long, in conelike drooping clusters enclosed in white papery sacs. A small ribbed nut ¼-5/16″ (7-8 mm) long, surrounded by a three- to seven-pointed leaf group called an involucre, ¾-1″ (2-3 cm) long. The involucres occur in clusters, and remain on the tree after other leaves drop.
Range/ Zones

USDA Zones: 3-9

USDA Zones: 3-9
Habitats River banks, swamp edges, flood plains, in fertile soil, both moist and dry Rich wet soils such as floodplains, swamps, or mucks
Type Wild Wild

 

Online References:

Www.carolinanature.com

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Cofrin Center for Biodiversity

The University of Connecticut Plant Database

Wikipedia

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Hort.ifas.ufl.edu (PDF)

EFloras

Ostrya virginiana (Eastern hophornbeam, ironwood, hophornbeam, hop-hornbeam)

6/22/2017 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm)

Ostrya virginiana (Eastern hophornbeam, ironwood, hophornbeam, hop-hornbeam)

7/24/2023 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine

Ostrya virginiana (Eastern hophornbeam, ironwood, hophornbeam, hop-hornbeam)

6/22/2017 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts

Ostrya virginiana (Mill.) K. Koch var. lasia Fernald

Ostrya virginiana (Mill.) K. Koch var. virginiana

 

Ostrya virginiana description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 26 Jul 2023.

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Ostrya virginiana (Eastern hophornbeam, ironwood, hophornbeam, hop-hornbeam)

6/22/2017 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 8 × 12″ (20 × 31 cm)

Ostrya virginiana (Eastern hophornbeam, ironwood, hophornbeam, hop-hornbeam)

7/24/2023 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine

Ostrya virginiana (Eastern hophornbeam, ironwood, hophornbeam, hop-hornbeam)

1/1/2012 · Big Tree Trail • Tudor Richards Natural History and Forest Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

Range: Zones 3-9:

About this map...