Carpinus caroliniana American Hornbeam, Ironwood, Musclewood

General

American hornbeam is an attractive, small tree of the hardwood bottomlands. It has distinctive grey, fluted bark that looks like a flexed muscle. The wood of this tree is very dense and hard, and it has been used to make mallet heads and tool handles. It is a valuable tree to many butterflies, birds, and mammals. It grows best in moist, rich, acidic, deep soils, where flooding doesn’t occur for more than 20% of the growing season.

Plant Description

Small, deciduous, understory tree. Mature bark is smooth, thin, and grey with fluting that gives a sinewy, muscular appearance. Leaves are elliptical and doubly serrate, similar to other trees in the birch family. Leaves become very colorful in the fall. Male catkins are green and female catkins are reddish green.

Height (ft)
20-40

Spread (ft)
20-35

Soil moisture
Moist

Soil types
Coarse to fine textured mineral soils; acidic soils, rich soils.

Wetland indicator
FAC

Shade tolerance
Partial to full shade

Bloom color
Green/Orange

Bloom period
Mid Spring

Fall conspicuous
Yes

Anaerobic tolerance
Low

Drought tolerance
Low

Salinity tolerance
None

Self-Pollinating?
Yes

Range

American Hornbeam is native to the eastern United States.

Kartesz, J.T. 2024. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP) [website http://bonap.org/]

Additional Information

According to BRIT - Native American Ethnobotany Database, this tree has been used as the main supporting pole for tents and wigwams.