Ironwood

Also known as Blue Beech, Musclewood, or American Hornbeam. Occur as small trees in the understory of older forests at the Nature Park

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fagales
Family: Betulaceae (birch family)
Genus species: Carpinus caroliniana

Leaves:
5 to 11 cm long, 2.5 to 6 cm wide.
Elliptical in shape, long-pointed at tip
Double toothed
Veins are prominent.

Bark:
Smooth bark, blue gray color.
Bark has a sinewy look, like muscles

Flowers:
Separate male and female flowers
Male flowers are greenish, in drooping catkins 3 to 4 cm long
Female flowers are reddish-green in narrow catkins 1 to 2 cm long
Flowers appear in spring, at the same time as the leaves.

Fruits:
Fruits are small long nuts, greenish, with leaf-like scales.
Mature in autumn.
Fruits hang on slender stalks, in clusters 5-10 cm long

Habitat:
Moist, rich soils and along streams and in ravines.

Range:
southeast Ontario east to southwestern Quebec and central Maine, south to central Florida west to east Texas, and north to Minnesota

Common Uses and Interesting Facts:
This tree has very tough wood.
Its small size limits its use to tool handles.


Ironwood fruit

Sources:

Little, E.L. 1998. National Audubon Society field guide to North American Trees, Eastern Region. Knopf Publishers, New York. 714 pages.

written by Bryan Helm; edited by Vanessa Artman

photo credits: Vanessa Artman; http://biology.missouristate.edu/Herbarium

 

 



Leaves are double-toothed. This means the edges of the leaves have a series of large teeth interspersed with small teeth.



Carpinus leaves


Carpinus branches and leaves