Native Trees for Shade Gardens in Maryland: Hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana
Native Trees for Shady Gardens
Hornbeam – Carpinus caroliniana
Carpinus caroliniana, commonly called American hornbeam, is a slow-growing, deciduous, small to medium-sized understory tree with an attractive globular form. Grows easily in average, medium moisture soil in part shade to full shade. Prefers moist, organically rich soils. It is typically found in rich moist woods, valleys, ravine bottoms and rocky slopes along streams. This tree typically grows 20-35′ tall.
The smooth, gray trunk and larger branches of a mature tree exhibit a distinctive muscle-like fluting that has given rise to another common name of musclewood for this tree. Flowers appear in spring in separate male and female catkins on one tree, being monoecious, with the female catkins giving way to distinctive clusters of winged nutlets. Serrated, elliptic-oval, dark green leaves often produce respectable shades of yellow, orange and red in fall. The extremely hard wood of this tree will, as the common name suggests, take a horn-like polish and was once used by early Americans to make bowls, tool handles and ox yokes. Host plant for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Striped hairstreak, Red-spotted Purple, and Tiger swallow-tail.
Common Name: American hornbeam or Ironwood
Type: Tree
Family: Betulaceae
Height: 20.00 to 35.00 feet
Spread: 20.00 to 35.00 feet
Bloom Time: February
Bloom Description: White (female), Green (male)
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium – moist to periodically wet
pH adaptable (acidic to slightly alkaline)
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Street Tree, Naturalize
Flower: Insignificant
Leaf: Good Fall
Attracts: Birds
Tolerate: Clay Soil, Black Walnut
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Street Tree, Naturalize
Flower: Insignificant
Leaf: Good Fall
Attracts: Birds
Tolerate: Clay Soil, Black Walnut
(Information from Misourri Botannical Garden)
Catkins
Fall leaf color