Eastern Hophornbeam
Ostrya virginiana (P. Mill.) K. Koch.
Also known as Leverwood or Ironwood.
Mature Size: 20 to 30 feet in height and 7 to 10 inches in diameter.
Form: Small and slender with a generally rounded top and long, slender branches that may droop at the ends.
Habitat: Understory in moist, well-drained floodplains and lower slopes; grows on a wide variety of soil types.
Leaves
Alternate, simple, 2 to 4 inches, oblong with narrowed tips and doubly toothed edges.
Flowers
Males in persistent ½ to 1 inch catkins, in clusters of 3 (resembling a bird's toes); females in slender, light green ½ inch catkins, appearing in spring.
Fruit
Hanging cluster of leafy, oval, papery sacs 1½ to 2½ inches long, with each sac containing a ¼ inch nutlett.
Bark
Light brown to reddish-brown, finely divided into thin scales that peel away from the trunk, as if shredded by a cat's claws.
Twigs
Slender, reddish brown, smooth and may be slightly fuzzy; male catkins present on twig ends; buds small, oval and covered with green and red-brown, finely grooved scales.
Values and Uses
The wood is strong, hard, durable, light brown to white, with thick, pale sapwood. Although seldom harvested, it has been used for tool handles, mallets and other small articles. A row of young hophornbeams can be pruned into a hedge. The buds, catkins and nutlets provide winter food for ruffed grouse, wild turkey, quail, red and gray squirrels, cottontails, white-tailed deer, ring-necked pheasant, purple finch, rose-breasted grosbeak and downy woodpeckers.
Did You Know?
The tree's common name comes from the fruits' resemblance to hops.
