Native plants for wetlands, fields or forests and an eclectic mix of other botanic delights

Carpinus caroliniana

Photo Credit:
Stan Kollar
Photo Credit:
Stan Kollar
Status
In Stock
American Hornbeam, Musclewood
Silver sinuous bark
Mature Size:
40
' Height /
35
' Spread
Expected Size:
/
Light Preference:
Sun to Part Sun
Soil Preference:
Moist (Mesic)
Price:
$2.75/landscape plug; $8.50/qt.; $16.50/1 gal., $28.50/2gal.(3'-4')

A distinguished small tree with distinctive smooth, dark gray bark. The trunk has a deeply rippled and sinewy look. Gray-green foliage in summer followed by good autumn color of orange and scarlet. Flat top tree with spreading habit, flowers April, fruits/tiny nuts August thru October that are favored by birds and wildlife.

Carpinus caroliniana (American Hornbeam, Musclewood, Ironwood) is a small hardwood tree.  It is also occasionally known as Blue-beech.  It is native to eastern North America, from  Minnesota and southern Ontario east to Maine, and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida. It also grows in Canada (southwest Quebec and southeast Ontario), Mexico (central and southern), Guatemala, and western Honduras.

It is a small tree reaching heights of 10–15 m, rarely 20 m, and often has a fluted and sinewy trunk. The bark is smooth and greenish-grey, becoming shallowly fissured in old trees. The leaves are alternate, 3–12 cm long, with prominent veins giving a distinctive texture, and a serrated margin. The male and female catkins appear in spring at the same time as the leaves. The fruit is a small 7–8 mm long nut, partially surrounded by a three- to seven-pointed leafy involucre 2–3 cm long; it matures in autumn. The seeds often do not germinate till the spring of the second year after maturating.

Source:
No additional images.
Photo(s) Credit:
Information

Prices listed are subject to change, based upon size change and availability.

We are a small local nursery with limited shipping capability. We will do our best to ship smaller material (usually 1 or 2 gallon), although we can sometimes ship larger plants with the pots removed.

We have some species that are not listed, as we have too few of them to make a full listing plausible. You can always inquire.

We will consider contract growing an order with appropriate advance notice and availability of seed, cuttings or lining out stock.

Summer Business Hours
Monday
10- 6
Tuesday
10- 6
Wednesday
By Appointment
Thursday
10 - 6
Friday
10- 5
Saturday
10- 5
Sunday
By Appointment
Kollar Nursery | 5200 West Heaps Road, Pylesville, MD 21132 | 410.836.0500
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