Habitat

• native to eastern North America, from New Brunswick to Florida
• zone 4

Habit and Form

• a wide-spreading, deciduous tree
• trunk is short and branches generally touch ground
• 50' to 70' tall and up to 120' wide
• if tree is in crowded conditions, tree will assume a more upright habit
• slow growth rate
• medium texture

Summer Foliage

• alternate leaf arrangement
• simple, serrate leaves
• glossy dark green leaf above & light green below
• leaves are glabrous on underside with tufts of hair in the axils of the veins & along midrib
• 11 - 15 vein pairs

Autumn Foliage

• fall color is bronze
• very attractive
• leaves tend to persist through winter

Flowers

• monoecious
• usually flowers in April or Early May
• not ornamentally important

Fruit

• three-winged nut
• nut is enclosed in a spiky involucre
• spikes are recurved
• found singly or in 2 & 3's
• edible
• persist into winter

Bark

• light gray bark
• smooth
• wrinkled appearance to bark

Culture

• transplant during dormant season
• moist, well-drained, acidic soil
• does not like excessively wet soils
• full sun best
• shallow, wide root system
• prune in early summer or early fall

Landscape Use

• naturalized areas
• large open spaces
• lawn tree
• parks
• golf courses

Liabilities

• branches generally touch ground
• grass tends not to grow under tree
• does not like wet soils
• tends to sucker
• fruit can be a litter problem
• few minor pest problems including: powdery mildew, aphids, canker, and beech bark disease

ID Features

• serrated leaf margins
• smooth, gray wrinkled bark
• dead leaves persist on tree through winter
• tree is very wide and branches generally touch ground
• alternate leaf arrangement
• three-winged fruit with a spiky involucre

Propagation

• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

• none