Hornbeam

Carpinus betulus

Please keep in mind that it is illegal to uproot a plant without the landowner's consent and care should be taken at all times not to damage wild plants. Wild plants should never be picked for pleasure and some plants are protected by law.
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Plant Data

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Order:

Fagales

Family:

Corylaceae (Hazel)

Also in this family:

Common Hazel

Type:

Deciduous tree

Life Cycle:

Perennial

Maximum Size:

30 metres tall

Habitats:

Gardens, hedgerows, parkland, woodland.

Flower:

Green, no petals

Green male hanging catkins. Female leafy 3-lobed bracts concealing the nut-like fruit.

Fruit:

The winged fruits called 'samara' contain the nuts. These are papery in appearance and hang down, persisting throughout the winter.

Leaves:

A deciduous tree. Oval, pointed leaves, toothed margins, up to 10cm long. The leaves turn yellow to orange in autumn before they are lost. The leaves look similar to Beech leaves but side-by-side you will notice a clear difference in that they are more crinkly. Hornbeam leaves also have double-serrated edges, whereas Beech leaves have no serrations and slightly wavy edges.

Other Names:

Charmille, Common Hornbeam, European Hornbeam, Horn Beech, Horse Beech, Hurst Beech, White Beech, Yoke Elm.

Frequency (UK):

Common

Similar Species:

Common Beech

Distribution Map

Reproduced by kind permission of the BSBI.

Click to open an Interactive Map