Download Eastern Hophornbeam

Eastern Hophornbeam
Ostrya virginiana is a small to medium deciduous tree with medium
texture. The rounded to heart-shaped leaves are 3 - 5" long and half
as wide, dull, yellow-green to dark green on top with lighter, fuzzy
undersides. The fall color is yellow but seldom showy. The stems
are reddish brown. The older bark is grayish brown to cinnamon
brown, broken into narrow scales giving a shredded appearance.
Hophornbeam grows slowly and is slow to establish after
transplanting. The wood is quite hard, often used for tool handles.
Ostrya virginiana can be utilized as a specimen tree, in the woodland
garden, and with proper placement, as a streetside tree due to its
tolerance of pollution.
The showy, dangling flowers are male and female. The male is
greenish, the female reddish green. Birds will eat the flowers. The
whitish, papery fruits which follow resemble hops. The seeds are
eaten by birds and small mammals. The leaves host insects which
feed nesting songbirds.
Ostrya virginiana is native to hammocks and dry, upland woods in
full sun to full shade. Hophornbeam will grow in moist to dry soils
with good drainage. It will grow in dry soils, but not in wet soil.
Height: 20’ – 40’.
Spread: 20’ – 30’