Common Name:
HORNBEAM, BLUE-BEECH
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Coefficient of Conservatism:
6
Coefficient of Wetness:
0
Wetness Index:
FAC
Physiognomy:
Nt Tree
J. Kelly
Swamps and stream banks; also upland forests, including aspen, oak-hickory, and rich beech-maple stands.
This is sometimes called ironwood, a name better reserved for Ostrya. The straight unbranched lateral veins of the leaf may suggest those of beech, and the leaves are also plicate in the bud; however, the margins are doubly serrate, while in beech the only teeth are at the ends of the veins. The nutlets are in pairs, subtended by a prominent green bract formed by enlargement of the tiny floral bracts; the true subtending bract is deciduous. The smooth muscular-looking bark is an ideal field character.