Copyright 2020, University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Unlike the Eastern Hophornbeam, the wood of the American Hornbeam decays rapidly when in contact with soil. General Information. “Wood” is a type of tissue made of cellulose and lignin that many plants develop as they mature — whether they are “woody” or not. American hornbeam is a small tree reaching heights of 10–15 meters (35–50 ft), rarely 20 meters (65 ft), and often has a fluted and crooked trunk. In the wild musclewood is an understory tree featuring distinctive muscle like trunk and branches. Hornbeam encourages us to be confident and to flex our muscles, physically and intellectually. American hornbeam, which is native to Illinois' woodlands, attains heights of 25 to 40 feet when mature. Difficult to transplant due to deep spreading lateral roots. Bark is smooth, tight, thin, bluish gray, sometimes blotched, fluted into muscle-like ridges, hence the other common name, “musclewood.”. Carpinus caroliniana American Hornbeam 20′ – 30′. Ornamental Features. American Hornbeam Musclewood. pH: 4.0 - 7.4 Native range: Eastern United States Other: Prefers shaded, moist soils. It is a tree that should be planted more in Nebraska and utilized as an understory tree or a specimen tree as it grows well in both sun and shade. The American hornbeam is also occasionally known as blue-beech, ironwood, or musclewood, the first from the resemblance of the bark to that of the American beech Fagus grandifolia, the other two from the hardness of the wood and the muscular appearance of the trunk, respectively. It is an understory tree that rarely grows much higher than 20 feet in the wild and often grows in clumps of several trunks. Height: 20’ - 30’ Spread: 20’ - 30’ Shape: Round, spreading Site preference: Rich, moist soils Zone: 3b - 9a Wet/dry: Prefers moist soil, but will tolerate some intermittent drought. The bark is smooth and greenish-grey, becoming shallowly fissured in all old trees. For general undergraduate student information, contact Dr. Rick Durham at (859) 257-3249, or rdurham@uky.edu. The American Hornbeam has forest green foliage throughout the season. virginiana (Marshall) Fernald, and the southern var. This deciduous, medium-sized tree matures to 40-60’ tall and 30-40’ wide at a growth rate of about 12-24” per year. American hornbeams (Carpinus caroliniana) are by far the most popular of the hornbeams grown in the U.S. Another common name for this tree is blue beech, which comes from the blue-gray color of its bark. The American Hornbeam has forest green foliage throughout the season. Trees are woody plants over 13 feet tall with a single trunk. The tree is perhaps best known for its smooth and sinewy steel-gray bark and the muscle-like look of its maturing trunk and larger branches (thus one of its common names). This earned it the … It is fractured into narrow scales, which are loose at their ends. It is a native understory tree in forests in … American hornbeam is a native, large shrub or small tree with a wide-spreading, flat-topped crown, the stems are slender, dark brown, hairy; bark gray, thin, usually smooth, with smooth, longitudinal fluting (resembling a flexed muscle). The smooth, gray, muscular-looking bark of American hornbeam is attractive year-round. Both of the two recognized varieties occur in NC, the northern var. Source: Commons An American Hornbeam growing in its native environment. The leaves turn dark green in summer and then come ablaze with shades of yellow and orange-red in fall. These plants can ordered online and shipped directly to you or picked up at the nursery. Blue beech’s official name is American hornbeam without the “hop.” Its bark looks very different: smooth, blue-gray and muscular. Hop-hornbeam, any of about seven species of ornamental trees constituting the genus Ostrya of the birch family (Betulaceae), native to Eurasia and North America.A hop-hornbeam has shaggy, scaling bark and thin, translucent, green leaves with hairy leafstalks. American hornbeam has hard, spherical fruit hanging under leaf-like, 3-lobed bracts. This tree has interesting reddish brown bark that is broken into narrow strips that are loose at both ends. Mammals ranging from rodents and rabbits to fox and deer browse the seeds, bark, wood, and twigs. Tolerates dry, shady sites. Its sinewy, smooth gray bark adds real interest, and the leaves are attractive in summer and fall. caroliniana. It is a native understory tree in forests in the Eastern half of the U.S. and southernmost Canada. American hornbeam typically comes from nurseries as a single-stem tree. Source: Commons Shippable Sizes. 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