OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Carpinus caroliniana +   FAMILY Betulaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carpinus caroliniana +   FAMILY Betulaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Carpinus caroliniana +

INCLUDED WITHIN Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)

Carpinus caroliniana

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 054-05-001:

Carpinus caroliniana   FAMILY Betulaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Carpinus caroliniana

 

COMMON NAME:
Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

JK Marlow    jkm191222_2362_c_carolini

    Clay County    AL

Cheaha State Park

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_233

        

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_carpinus_caroliniana

January        

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

Gill Newberry    gn03_carpinus_earlyspring

March        

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

JK Marlow    jkm160326_098

March    Laurens County    SC

Male flowers in dense drooping cylindrical catkins 3-4cm long, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

JK Marlow    jkm160326_098b

March    Laurens County    SC

Perianth of male flowers absent, the subtending scales acute, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

JK Marlow    jkm160326_099

March    Laurens County    SC

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

Roxanna Martin    rlm31812_164

March    Spartanburg County    SC

Female flowers fewer, in shorter and less conspicuous catkins than the male, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

Roxanna Martin    rlm31812_165

March    Spartanburg County    SC

Pistillate catkin left, at twig tip; staminate catkin on previous season's wood.

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

Roxanna Martin    rlm31812_90

March    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_c_caroliniana_1_bark

March    Floyd County    GA

Bark blue-gray, smooth; trunk twisted and fluted, appearing "muscular", per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE bark of American Hornbeam and Tag Alder

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_c_caroliniana_1

May        

Lvs elliptical to ovate, glabrous above, pale green w pubescent veins below, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

Gill Newberry    gn06_c_caroliniana_fruits

June        

Var. caroliniana: Bracts of the infructescence with rounded to subacute tips & few, blunt teeth, per Weakley's Flora (2022).

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

JK Marlow    jkm0506n_02

June    Union County    SC

Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District

Each ovoid nutlet subtended by a 3-lobed leaflike bract, in 2-4" clusters, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

JK Marlow    jkm0308g_19

August    Chester County    SC

Landsford Canal State Park

Wood growth not symmetrical, giving a sinewy appearance to the trunk, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

JK Marlow    jkm060805_135

August    Haywood County    NC

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Var. virginiana: Bracts of the infructescence mostly sharp-tipped & bearing several sharp teeth, per Weakley's Flora (2022).

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

JK Marlow    jkm0410k_29

October    Greenville County    SC

In cultivation

Branches, branchlets, and twigs conspicuously 2-ranked. Leaves 2-ranked, per Flora of North America.


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE Hop-hornbeam and Hornbeam

image of Carpinus caroliniana +, Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue-beech, Ironwood

JK Marlow    s051106_i2

November    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

Leaves doubly-toothed, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Carpinus caroliniana +   FAMILY Betulaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carpinus caroliniana +   FAMILY Betulaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Carpinus caroliniana +

INCLUDED WITHIN Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Carpinus caroliniana

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 054-05-001:
Carpinus caroliniana   FAMILY Betulaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Carpinus caroliniana

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

268

Tree
Perennial
Monoecious

Look for it on streambanks, riverbanks, bottomland forests, lower slopes, and, depending on variety, in maritime forests or rich cove forests, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common, uncommon, or rare - depending on variety & region

map
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring
Perianth absent in staminate flowers
Numerous stamens in staminate flowers
Inferior ovary
Unisexual

Flowers in catkins

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Nut

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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