The Genus Carpinus
Family Betulaceae
This is a medium-sized genus of trees from Asia, Europe, and North America. A few species are cultivated in gardens. One is native to the coastal southeast and is sometimes cultivated in local gardens.
The birch family, Betulaceae, is a small family from Asia, Europe and North America, with a few species extending down the Andes into South America. The family includes birch (Betula,) the hazel nuts and filberts (Corylus) and hop hornbeam (Ostrya.)
The birch family, Betulaceae, is a small family from Asia, Europe and North America, with a few species extending down the Andes into South America. The family includes birch (Betula,) the hazel nuts and filberts (Corylus) and hop hornbeam (Ostrya.)
Carpinus caroliniana
Carpinus caroliniana (AASU)
Carolina hornbeam, ironwood
This is a deciduous tree to about twenty-five feet tall in our area. It can grow into an attractive small shade tree in a sunny site but more often seen as a wispy understory tree in the wild. Its natural range in the eastern U.S. includes the coastal southeast. It has a sinewy-looking trunk with a smooth gray bark except in very large, old specimens. Pollen-bearing flowers are borne in slender catkins. Seed-producing flowers and the resulting fruits are borne in pendant spikes with leafy bracts. Locally, it grows in moist to swampy sites in the shade of taller trees. It grows from zone 3 to 9.
Plants are available from native plant nurseries and catalogs. A few cultivars exist in northern states but none have been selected in the Coastal Southeast. Fresh seed germinates readily. This plant is considered difficult to root from cuttings although successes are reported with summer softwood cuttings for cultivars.
The plants in my garden grow at a moderate rate under the canopy of pines and sweet bay. I have seen a few large, round-headed specimens growing in full sun in gardens in our area. The largest had a rough bark that made me think it was Ostrya virginiana until I found some old fruits. Leaves and flowers emerge between mid- February and mid-March, depending on late winter temperatures.
This is a deciduous tree to about twenty-five feet tall in our area. It can grow into an attractive small shade tree in a sunny site but more often seen as a wispy understory tree in the wild. Its natural range in the eastern U.S. includes the coastal southeast. It has a sinewy-looking trunk with a smooth gray bark except in very large, old specimens. Pollen-bearing flowers are borne in slender catkins. Seed-producing flowers and the resulting fruits are borne in pendant spikes with leafy bracts. Locally, it grows in moist to swampy sites in the shade of taller trees. It grows from zone 3 to 9.
Plants are available from native plant nurseries and catalogs. A few cultivars exist in northern states but none have been selected in the Coastal Southeast. Fresh seed germinates readily. This plant is considered difficult to root from cuttings although successes are reported with summer softwood cuttings for cultivars.
The plants in my garden grow at a moderate rate under the canopy of pines and sweet bay. I have seen a few large, round-headed specimens growing in full sun in gardens in our area. The largest had a rough bark that made me think it was Ostrya virginiana until I found some old fruits. Leaves and flowers emerge between mid- February and mid-March, depending on late winter temperatures.
Carpinus caroliniana fruit
Carpinus caroliniana bark