Scientific Name: Ostrya virginiana
Trail Location: 29
Plant Type: Deciduous
Family: Betulaceae (Birch)
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
USDA Plant Id: osvi
Height: 35 - 40
Spread: 20 - 30
Flower:: Minimal
Bloom Information:: Red/Brown(male), Light Green(female) blooms April
Leaf Image:
Fall Leaf Color:: Yellow not real showy
Missouri Botanical: Missouri Botanical
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Citations: Leave and flower images USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Herman, D.E., et al. 1996. North Dakota tree handbook. USDA NRCS ND State Soil Conservation Committee; NDSU Extension and Western Area Power Administration, Bismarck.
American Hophornbeam is a deciduous understory tree with a generally rounded crown. Typically grows 25-40 ft tall with a slightly smaller spread. Features birch-like, oval to lance-shaped, sharply-serrated, dark yellowish-green leaves (to 5 inches long). Leaves turn an undistinguished yellow in autumn and often drop early. The flowers are reddish-brown male flowers and also greenish female flowers appear in separate catkins on the same tree. Flowers are not particularly showy, although the male catkins are more prominent and are present throughout winter. Female catkins are followed by drooping clusters of sac-like, seed-bearing pods which, as the common name suggests, somewhat resemble the fruit of hops. Also commonly called ironwood because of its extremely hard and dense wood.
