Ostrya virginiana
American Hophornbeam
Betulaceae

Located on left side of Benton Art Museum.

  • leaves alternate, ovate, cordate base, serrated edges
  • leaves dark green, often falling early in autumn
  • buds pointed, imbricate, divergent, brown-green
  • stems smooth, zig-zag, red-brown
  • flowers in catkins, visible over winter
  • fruit distinctive; nutlets with a papery covering
  • fruit are arranged in drooping clusters resembling a cone or overlapping shingles
  • fruit starts green and turns brown
  • bark distinctive, with brown-gray small vertical squares or strips
  • bark peels in rectangular strips
  • bark appears "muscular", with knobs and swells along trunk
  • habit is a small to medium tree


View Ostrya virginiana page in the UConn Plant Database


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