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Hop-hornbeam

Scientific Name: Ostrya virginiana
— pronounced OSS-tree-uh vir-jin-ee-AN-uh
— Ostrya is Latin, from Greek ostrus, the Common Hop-hornbeam; perhaps derived from Greek ostrakon, shell (of an animal), for the extremely hard wood. (The English "hornbeam" has a parallel derivation: horn, for wood as hard as horn; and Old English beam, tree)
– virginiana is late Latin, meaning “of Virginia”
Birch Family (Betulaceae), comprised of deciduous nut-bearing trees and shrubs, including the birches, alders, hazels, hornbeams, and hazel-hornbeams
Other Common Names: Ironwood, Leverwood

The Hop-hornbeam’s bark in maturity is gray and has a distinctive shredded look. Early in the tree’s life the bark is smooth and red-brown.

The leaves alternate on the stem. They are oval to broadly lance-shaped, narrowing to a point, with a double sawtooth edge. They’re green above; below, they’re pale, and fuzzy along the mid-vein.
Photos: bark by David Rosher; leaves by

The Hop-hornbeam’s male flowers develop in late summer and are present throughout winter. The females appear in early spring, light green catkins less than 1/2 inch long.

​The fruit consists of several leaf-like sacs hanging from a single stem, each containing a 1/4-inch nutlet. Green at first, the sacs turn brown as the fruit matures. "Hop" comes from the fruit’s resemblance to a hop vine’s fruit.
Picture
​Photos: flowers (female) by Eric Hunt CC; fruits by Peter Dziuk

More photos and ID help: VA Tech Dendrology

Hop-hornbeam is a small to medium understory tree, 20 to 40 feet high, highly shade-tolerant. It’s usually found in upland areas and is very common here in the Brushy Hills Preserve.

Interesting facts:
  • This species grows slowly and typically lives 100 years, with a maximum lifespan of 150. It’s usually 25 years old before bearing significant fruit.
  • It’s a host plant for the larvae of many species of butterflies and moths. Its nutlets are a minor winter food for mammals and birds.
  • Hop-hornbeam typically retains a number of dried brown leaves through the winter months.
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