Taxon

Carpinus caroliniana

 
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Carpinus caroliniana - American Hornbeam, Iron Wood, Musclewood, Blue Beech, Water Beech
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Common name: American Hornbeam, Iron Wood, Musclewood, Blue Beech, Water Beech
Family: Betulaceae (Birch)
Distribution: E Canada to SE USA
Habitat: Understory of bottomland mixed-hardwood forests, 0-2200 meters
Hardiness: -40 - 30 F
Life form: Deciduous tree
Bloom Time: February
Attracts: Butterflies
Average height: 20-30'
Structure: Oval
Foliage characteristics: Simple, alternate, oblong green leaves with double serrated margins. 1-4" long.
Fall color: Orange; red; yellow
Fruit characteristics: Nutlets surrounded by 3-winged leaf-like bract. Many nutlets hang together in a pendulous chain, and change from green to brown in September-October. Each is .5-1" long.
Bloom characteristics: Male catkins are 1-2.5" long, female catkins are slightly shorter.
Ethnobotanical uses: Used by early Americans to make bowls, tool handles, ox yokes, and other small, hard, wooden objects.
Description: The American hornbeam has two other common names which describe the hardness of its wood and the sinew-like fluting of its trunk and older branches: ironwood and musclewood. The relatively small size of this tree means that its hard wood is not used commercially, but it was used by early pioneers to make bowls, tool handles, yolks, and other objects that would need to withstand abuse. As the name “hornbeam” suggests, its wood would take a horn like polish.
Links: Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder • UF IFAS Environmental Horticulture Center • USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

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