Tree Species of the Carpinus Genus

Picture of a Hornbeam Tree
Carpinus betulus (European or common hornbeam) Photo by Willow, Image use (cc1)
Carpinus betulus (European hornbeam) being Coppiced in England. Photo by Graham Burnett, Image use (cc1)

Hornbeam (Carpinus) trees produce very hard wood, giving rise to the name iron-wood. In Europe it is used for making tools such as carving boards, coach wheels, mallet heads, levers and other tool handles. Hornbeam trees are sometimes coppiced to produce hardwood poles. Carpinus betulus  has a tough wood that is used in agricultural implements throughout Europe. Hornbeam wood is also used in parquet flooring.

The common name of Hornbeam in English derives from two of its properties; the hardness of the wood (likened to horn) and the Old English name for tree "beam" (cognate with German for tree; "baum"). The hop-hornbeam (Ostrya) is a different genus of the birch family and should not be misplaced in the Carpinus genus because of its common name. Most botanists place the Carpinus genus (hornbeams) in the birch family Betulaceae, but some group them with the Corylus (Hazels) and Ostrya (hop-hornbeams) in a segregate family, Corylaceae.

There are approximately 30 species of Carpinus, which can be found in much of the north temperate regions. Two species are native to Europe, and only one in eastern North America The rest of the species are native in east Asia, especially China.

The leaves of Carpinus are deciduous. The male and female flowers are on separate catkins, but on the same tree , so the tree is described as being monoecious.  The fruit is a small nut about 3-6 mm long, held in a leafy bract; the bract may be either trilobed or simple oval, and is slightly asymmetrical. The asymmetry of the seed wing makes it spin as it falls, improving wind dispersal. The shape of the wing is important in the identification of different hornbeam species. There are typically 10-30 seeds on each seed catkin.

Facts about the Carpinus Genus of Trees

• Genus Scientific Name = Carpinus
• Genus Common Names = Hornbeam
• Number of Taxa in the Carpinus Genus = XX

List of Hornbeam Trees, Carpinus Genus - All known species, taxa on Earth, organized by scientific Latin botanical name first and common names second.