Plant Image Data Base
Carpinus
betulus
European Hornbeam
(Betulaceae - Birch Family)
Form
- medium-sized ornamental tree
- the rarely available species form matures at 40' tall by 30' wide, while
the common cultivars are more compact
- species form and cultivars have an upright oval growth habit in youth,
becoming more spreading with age
- medium growth rate
Culture
- full sun to partial sun; prefers a moist, well-drained soil but otherwise
is adaptable to various soils, soil pHs, heat, and drought
- species form is propagated by seed or rooted stem cuttings; cultivars are
usually propagated by rooted stem cuttings or cuttings grafted onto seedling
rootstock
- Birch Family, with no significant diseases, and with borers being the
primary pest problem; in addition, mature specimens of 'Fastigiata' often
exhibit the eventual decline and dieback of the centermost co-dominant
branches, possibly due to self-girdling that brings both abiotic and biotic
stresses upon the tree
- the species form is rarely available, but the two most common cultivars
are commonly available in ball and burlap form
- both the species form and 'Fastigiata' can be limbed up (if desired) very
early in youth to at least three feet so that either turf grass or an
ornamental plant bed can be grown underneath; however, as the tree matures
and casts a dense shade, turf will tend to die out underneath and only
shade-tolerant plants will grow at the tree's base
- European Hornbeam is somewhat sensitive to being transplanted in Autumn,
and care should be taken to amend the soil, fertilize, water thoroughly,
mulch adequately, and avoid Winter salt spray, to enhance survival chances
during the first Winter
Foliage
- leaves are alternate, ovate to oblong, about 4" long and 1.5"
wide, doubly serrated, with impressed veins
- fall color is a poor chartreuse in many years, but golden-yellow in good
years
Flowers
- monoecious (separate gender flowers are produced on the same tree), in
pendulous catkins that are both staminate (male, 1.5" long) and
pistillate (female, 3" long), produced in April before the foliage and
swaying in the Spring breezes, with the pistillate catkins emerging from a
pair of three-lobed bracts that are persistent
Fruits
- light brown nutlets, maturing in October, with the enveloping three-lobed
bracts appearing as tripartite umbrellas over them
- semi-showy bracts change from light green to pale yellow in September, and
are clustered on the twigs
Twigs
- olive-brown and lenticeled, with prominent axillary Winter buds that are
long and partially curving around the twigs
Trunk
- smooth and steel gray, sometimes having a rippled muscular character to
its surface
ID Summary
- pendulous catkins are produced in early Spring, emerging from showy bracts
that are persistent into Autumn, followed by oblong leaves that are doubly
serrated and alternate; many branches occur low and in semi-whorled fashion
on the trunk of the tree (for the species form and 'Fastigiata'), curving
outward initially, then ascending rapidly, with relatively little branching,
for a very straight, vertical, and semi-formal architectural appearance,
with Winter buds that partially curl around the young twigs; 'Columnaris' is
higher-branched, of much less caliper, and more stately, with a more even
distribution of the branches up and down the central leader
Function
- specimen or focal point tree of great symmetrical and architectural value;
can also be an effective year-round deciduous screen or tall, wide hedge
when used in rows
- various cultivars are refined (in terms of shape and density for formal
appearance) to the point that they are excellent to use in formal
situations, especially 'Columnaris'
Texture
- medium-fine texture in foliage and when bare
- thick density in foliage and when bare, with many ascending bud-laden
twigs and branches forming a thick canopy even in Winter (a "deciduous
screen")
Assets
- perfect formal symmetry
- distinctly ascending habit
- ornamental Winter buds, Spring catkins, and Autumn fruit bracts
- smooth gray bark, sometimes muscled
- fine-textured branches and twigs
- the species form and 'Fastigiata' may serve as a dense, tall privacy
screen when in foliage, and a semi-privacy screen in Winter (rare for a
deciduous tree)
- 'Columnaris' is stately and extremely formal-looking, with a limbed-up
trunk, strong central leader, and branches arranged tightly near the trunk
Liabilities
- 'Fastigiata' and the species form get wide with age (especially near the
base) and may also exhibit central canopy decline and dieback with age
- borers may infest the trunks and branches of all forms of this species
with age
Habitat
- zones 4 to 7
- native to Europe and Asia Minor
Alternates
- trees with a wide teardrop shape and ascending branches(Pyrus
calleryana 'Bradford')
- trees with smooth gray bark (Amelanchier laevis, Carpinus caroliniana,
Fagus sylvatica, Fagus grandifolia, etc.)
- trees with unusual fruits (Asimina triloba, Halesia carolina,
Koelreuteria paniculata, Ostrya virginiana, Staphylea trifolia, etc.)
Variants
- Carpinus betulus 'Columnaris' - a distinctly upright columnar to
narrow teardrop growth habit through maturity, densely foliaged, a much
thinner version of the species (to 25' tall by 10' wide, but often seen at
half to two-thirds of that size), noted for its dark green Summer foliage
that clusters at the branch tips, and especially noted for its formal
aristocratic appearance, with small branches continuously emerging along the
length of the strong central leader that is limbed up 3' to 5' during
nursery growth and therefore does not branch and foliage to the ground; a
great architectural small- to medium-sized tree for complementing either
tall buildings or buildings with strong vertical lines
- Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata' - the most common form available,
being somewhat smaller than the species (to 30' tall by 20' wide, but still
relatively large in its own right, appearing very "full" due to
its dense branching) but distinctly spreading with age (it is teardrop in
shape, not fastigiate, although there is probably more than one form of
'Fastigiata' in the nursery trade); a liability is that the central
co-dominant branches may eventually decline and die, possibly due to being
self-girdled by the many closely-packed competitive side branches that
emerge from virtually the same point (reminiscent of Pyrus calleryana
'Bradford'), eventually leading to central wood decay and pest/pathogen
invasion
Translation
- Carpinus is the classical Latin name for this tree.
- betulus means "like Birch", referring to various
morphological traits that this tree and other members of the Birch Family
possess.
Purpose
- European Hornbeam, in its various cultivar forms, is a tree that always
has a tight, formal, perfect symmetry and a fine-textured, ascending,
densely twiggy year-round appearance.
Summary
- Carpinus betulus is a columnar or teardrop-shaped tree with two
primary cultivars, both noted for their fine and dense texture, ornamental
smooth gray bark, dense Summer foliage, pendulous Spring catkins, and
unusual Autumn fruits.
Top