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Hornbeams are
hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s in the
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
''Carpinus'' in the
birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' cont ...
family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the
temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
regions of the
Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
.


Origin of names

The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives from the hardness of the woods (likened to horn) and the Old English ''beam'' "tree" (cognate with Dutch ‘’Boom’’ and German ''Baum''). 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 American beech or North American beech, is a species of beech tree native to the eastern United States and extreme southeast of Canada. Description ''Fagus grandifolia'' is a large deciduous tree growing to tall, w ...
''Fagus grandifolia'', the other two from the hardness of the wood and the muscled appearance of the trunk and limbs. The botanical name for the genus, ''Carpinus'', is the original Latin name for the European species, although some
etymologists Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words and ...
derive it from the Celtic for a
yoke A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, u ...
.


Taxonomy

Formerly some taxonomists segregated them with the genera ''
Corylus The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
'' (
hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
s) and '' Ostrya'' ( hop-hornbeams) in a separate family, Corylaceae. However, modern botanists place ''Carpinus'' in the
birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' cont ...
subfamily
Coryloideae Coryloideae is a subfamily in the woody angiosperm family Betulaceae, commonly known as the birch family, and consists of four extant genera - '' Corylus'' L., '' Ostryopsis'' Decne., ''Carpinus'' L., and '' Ostrya'' Scop. These deciduous trees ...
. Species of ''Carpinus'' are often grouped into two subgenera ''Carpinus'' subgenus ''Carpinus'' and ''Carpinus'' subgenus '' Distegicarpus''. However, phylogentic analysis has shown that '' Ostrya'' likely evolved from a ''Carpinus'' ancestor somewhere in ''C.'' subg. '' Distegicarpus'' making ''Carpinus''
paraphyletic In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In ...
. The fossil record of the genus extends back to the
Early Eocene In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian Age. The Ypresian ...
,
Ypresian In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian Age. The Ypresian ...
of northwestern North America, with the species ''
Carpinus perryae ''Carpinus perryae'' is an extinct species of hornbeam known from fossil fruits found in the Klondike Mountain Formation deposits of northern Washington state, dated to the early Eocene Ypresian stage. Based on described features, ''C. perryae'' ...
'' described from fossil fruits found in the
Klondike Mountain Formation The Klondike Mountain Formation is an Early Eocene (Ypresian) geological formation located in the northeast central area of Washington state. The formation, named for the type location designated in 1962, Klondike Mountain north of Republic, Wash ...
of
Republic, Washington Republic is a city in Ferry County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,073 at the 2010 census, a 12.5% increase over the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Ferry County. It was the largest mining camp in the Republic Mining Dis ...
.


Description

Hornbeams are small to medium-sized trees, ''Carpinus betulus'' reaching a height of 32 m. The leaves are
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
, alternate, and simple with a serrated margin, and typically vary from 3 to 10 cm in length. The flowers are wind-pollinated pendulous
catkin A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated (anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in '' Salix''). They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arrang ...
s, produced in spring. The male and female flowers are on separate catkins, but on the same tree (
monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy. Monoecy is ...
). The fruit is a small nut about 3–6 mm long, held in a leafy
bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or o ...
; the bract may be either trilobed or simple oval, and is slightly asymmetrical. The asymmetry of the seedwing makes it spin as it falls, improving wind dispersal. The shape of the wing is important in the identification of different hornbeam species. Typically, 10–30 seeds are on each seed catkin.


Distribution

The 30–40 species occur across much of the
temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
regions of the northern hemisphere, with the greatest number of species in east Asia, particularly
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. Only two species occur in Europe, only one in eastern North America, and one in
Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. Wit ...
. ''
Carpinus betulus ''Carpinus betulus'', the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family Betulaceae, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. It requires a warm climate for good growth, ...
'' can be found in Europe, Turkey and Ukraine.


Associated insects

Hornbeams are used as food plants by the
larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...
e of some
Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described speci ...
species, including autumnal moth,
common emerald The common emerald (''Hemithea aestivaria'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species is found throughout the Nearctic and Palearctic regions and the Near East. It is mostly commonly found in the southern half of the British Isles. It was ...
,
feathered thorn The feathered thorn (''Colotois pennaria'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. Etymology The common name derives from the very strong feathering on the antennae of the male. Also the species ...
, walnut sphinx,
Svensson's copper underwing Svensson's copper underwing (''Amphipyra berbera'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Charles E. Rungs in 1949. It is distributed throughout Europe including Russia east to the Urals. This species has a wings ...
, and
winter moth :''In North America, "winter moth" usually denotes the invasive species ''Operophtera brumata'', but may also mean refer to a native species, ''Erannis tiliaria'' (linden looper) or '' Operophtera bruceata'' (bruce spanworm).'' The winter moth (' ...
(recorded on European hornbeam) as well as the ''
Coleophora ''Coleophora'' is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Many authors ...
'' case-bearers ''C. currucipennella'' and ''C. ostryae''.


Applications

Hornbeams yield a very hard
timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...
, giving rise to the name "ironwood".Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
Dried heartwood billets are nearly white and are suitable for decorative use. For general carpentry, hornbeam is rarely used, partly due to the difficulty of working it. The wood is used to construct carving boards, tool handles, handplane soles, coach wheels,
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
actions, shoe lasts, and other products where a very tough, hard wood is required. The wood can also be used as gear pegs in simple machines, including traditional
windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...
s. It is sometimes
coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...
d to provide hardwood poles. It is also used in parquet flooring and for making chess pieces.


Species

Accepted species: *''
Carpinus betulus ''Carpinus betulus'', the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family Betulaceae, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. It requires a warm climate for good growth, ...
'' – European hornbeam - Europe to Western Asia; naturalized in North America. *''
Carpinus caroliniana ''Carpinus caroliniana'', the American hornbeam, is a small hardwood tree in the genus ''Carpinus''. American hornbeam is also known as blue-beech, ironwood, musclewood and muscle beech. It is native to eastern North America, from Minnesota and ...
'' – American hornbeam - Eastern North America *'' Carpinus chuniana'' – Guangdong, Guizhou, Hubei *'' Carpinus cordata'' – Sawa hornbeam - Primorye, China, Korea, Japan *'' Carpinus dayongiana'' – Hunan *'' Carpinus eximia'' – Korea *'' Carpinus faginea'' – Nepal, Himalayas of northern India *'' Carpinus fangiana'' – Sichuan, Guangxi *'' Carpinus hebestroma'' – Taiwan *'' Carpinus henryana'' – southern China *'' Carpinus japonica'' Blume – Japanese hornbeam - Japan *'' Carpinus kawakamii'' – Taiwan, southeastern China *''
Carpinus kweichowensis Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hor ...
'' – Guizhou, Yunnan *'' Carpinus langaoensis'' – Shaanxi, China *''
Carpinus laxiflora Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam' ...
'' – Aka-shide hornbeam - Japan, Korea *'' Carpinus lipoensis'' – Guizhou *'' Carpinus londoniana'' – southern China, northern Indochina *'' Carpinus luochengensis'' – Guangxi *'' Carpinus mengshanensis'' – Shandong *'' Carpinus microphylla'' – Guangxi *'' Carpinus mollicoma'' – Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan *'' Carpinus monbeigiana'' – Tibet, Yunnan *'' Carpinus omeiensis'' – Sichuan, Guizhou *'' Carpinus orientalis'' – Oriental hornbeam - Hungary, Balkans, Italy, Crimea, Turkey, Iran, Caucasus *'' Carpinus paohsingensis'' – China *†''
Carpinus perryae ''Carpinus perryae'' is an extinct species of hornbeam known from fossil fruits found in the Klondike Mountain Formation deposits of northern Washington state, dated to the early Eocene Ypresian stage. Based on described features, ''C. perryae'' ...
'' -
Ypresian In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian Age. The Ypresian ...
,
Klondike Mountain Formation The Klondike Mountain Formation is an Early Eocene (Ypresian) geological formation located in the northeast central area of Washington state. The formation, named for the type location designated in 1962, Klondike Mountain north of Republic, Wash ...
*''
Carpinus polyneura Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam ...
'' – southern China *'' Carpinus pubescens'' – China, Vietnam *'' Carpinus purpurinervis'' – Guizhou, Guangxi *''
Carpinus putoensis ''Carpinus putoensis'' (Putuo hornbeam, ) is a species of plant in the family Betulaceae. It is a small tree, up to tall. It is endemic to Zhoushan archipelago in China where it survives as a single tree on Putuo Island. It is monoecious, the ...
'' – Putuo hornbeam - Zhejiang *'' Carpinus rankanensis'' – Taiwan *'' Carpinus rupestris'' – Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou *'' Carpinus shensiensis'' – Gansu, Shaanxi *'' Carpinus shimenensis'' – Hunan *†'' Carpinus tengshongensis'' –
Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Yunnan Province Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
*''
Carpinus tropicalis ''Carpinus tropicalis'' is a species of tree native to central and southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Description ''Carpinus tropicalis'' is small to medium-sized tree which grows up to 30 meters tall, with a trunk ...
'' – Mexico, Central America *'' Carpinus tsaiana'' – Yunnan, Guizhou *'' Carpinus tschonoskii'' – Chonowski's hornbeam - China, Korea, Japan *'' Carpinus turczaninovii'' – Korean hornbeam, - China, Korea, Japan *''
Carpinus viminea Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hor ...
'' – China, Korea, Himalayas, northern Indochina


References


External links

* {{Authority control Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus