Carpinus betulus

Carpinus betulus
	Tree in summer
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fagales
Family:	Betulaceae
Genus:	Carpinus
Species:	C. betulus
Binomial name
	Carpinus betulus; L.
	Distribution map

Carpinus betulus, the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family Betulaceae, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England.^[1] It requires a warm climate for good growth, and occurs only at elevations up to 1,000 metres (3,281 ft). It grows in mixed stands with oak, and in some areas beech, and is also a common tree in scree forests. Hornbeam was also known as yoke elm.^[2]

Description

It is a deciduous small to medium-size tree reaching heights of 15–25 metres (49–82 ft), rarely 30 m (98 ft), and often has a fluted and crooked trunk. The bark is smooth and greenish-grey, even in old trees. The buds, unlike those of the beech, are 10 mm (0.39 in) long at the most, and pressed close to the twig. The leaves are alternate, 4–9 cm (1.6–3.5 in) long, with prominent veins giving a distinctive corrugated texture, and a serrated margin. It is monoecious, and the wind-pollinated male and female catkins appear in early summer after the leaves. The fruit is a small 7–8 mm (0.28–0.31 in) long nut, partially surrounded by a three-pointed leafy involucre 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in) long; it matures in autumn.^{[citation needed]}

Distribution

Hornbeam is considered native from Western Asia and throughout Europe.^[1] The species prefers a warm climate, and only naturally occurs below 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) in elevation. It is a common tree in scree forests.^[2]

Hornbeam was frequently coppiced and pollarded in the past in England. It is still infrequently managed using these traditional methods, but mainly for non-commercial conservation purposes. As a woodland tree traditionally managed in this way, it is particularly frequent in the ancient woodlands of south Essex, Hertfordshire and north Kent where it typically occupies more than half of most ancient woods and wood pastures.^[3]

There are a number of notable forests where C. betulus is a dominant tree species, among which include Epping Forest in the United Kingdom, and Halltorps hage in Öland, Sweden.

Fossil record

Three fossil fruits of Carpinus betulus have been extracted from borehole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland.^[4]

Ecology

In England, trees appear to prefer soils with a pH from 3.6 to 4.6 but tolerate up to 7.6. They are found on soils with moderate clay content and avoid soils with particularly high or low clay content.^[3] Carpinus betulus likes full sun or partial shade,^[5] moderate soil fertility and moisture. It has a shallow, wide-spreading root system and is marked by the production of stump sprouts when cut back.^{[citation needed]}

The seeds often do not germinate until the spring of the second year after sowing. The hornbeam is a prolific seeder and is marked by vigorous natural regeneration.^{[citation needed]}

Associated species

Hornbeam grows in mixed stands with oak, and in some areas beech.^[2] The leaves provide food for some animals, including Lepidoptera such as the case-bearer moth Coleophora anatipennella.^{[citation needed]}

This tree has been associated with the poisonous mushroom Amanita phalloides, better known as the death-cap mushroom, which grow around the trunk after hornbeams mature. When ingested, death-cap mushrooms can cause extreme medical conditions and death. Death-cap mushrooms can be mistaken for other edible mushrooms (Amanita princeps).^[6]

Cultivation and uses

Carpinus betulus is widely cultivated as an ornamental tree, for planting in gardens and parks throughout north west Europe. Because it stands up well to cutting back and has dense foliage, it has been much used in landscape gardening, mainly as tall hedges and for topiary. It was the classic tree used in French formal gardens for hedges in bosquets, as in the Gardens of Versailles, and in their English equivalent, the garden wilderness.^{[citation needed]}

There are several cultivars, notably 'Fastigiata' or 'Pyramidalis', a fastigiate tree when young, which has become a popular urban street tree in the United Kingdom and other countries.^{[citation needed]} 'Frans Fontaine' is a similar fastigiate cultivar.^[7] Both the species C. betulus and the cultivar 'Fastigiata' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[5]^[8]

As early as Roman times, but also during the Thirty Years' War, defensive hedges (Landwehr) in Central Europe were largely planted from hornbeams. The bushes were chopped down with axes and broken down. The trees would then grow together with blackberries, dog roses, and other thorny bushes into impenetrable hedges. In the 11th century, for example, the Electorate of Mainz set up a large defensive forest called the Rheingauer Gebück [de]. Many place names with the endings -hagen and -hain refer to such landwehrs.^[9]

Hildegard of Bingen wrote of hornbeam being used as a plant in traditional medicine to treat vitiligo. The heated hornbeam chips were pressed onto the affected skin areas.^[10] Hornbeam is used in Bach flower remedies as a treatment for exhaustion.^[9]

The wood is heavy and hard, and is used for tools and building constructions. It also burns hot and slowly, making it very suitable for firewood.^[11] This was the reason for lopping and hence indirectly the saving of Epping Forest, where the hornbeam was a favoured pollarding tree.^{[citation needed]} The wood has a very high calorific value of around 2,300 kWh/RM.^[12]

Notable examples

The Last Tree - The only tree that survived the devastation of the Battle of Delville Wood in 1916. It is preserved as part of the Delville Wood South African National Memorial near Longueval.^[13]
Lincoln's Hornbeam - Planted by President Lincoln at the United States Botanic Garden in the Capitol grounds, Washington D.C.^[14]

Gallery

Tree in winter
Old tree
Hornbeam-covered walk
Fruit and seeds
Leaf bud
Newly planted Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata' in Poundbury, Dorset, United Kingdom
Common hornbeam in a tree protection tube planted 3 years and 3 months earlier

References

^ ^a ^b "Native flora recorded from postal district NR6 (Norwich) | Natural History Museum". Archived from the original on 2012-10-15.
^ ^a ^b ^c Brown, John (1816). Encyclopaedia Perthensis. Vol. 23. p. 364.
^ ^a ^b Rackham, Oliver (2003). Ancient Woodland; its history, vegetation and uses in England (New ed.). Castlepoint Press. ISBN 1-897604-27-0.
^ Łańcucka-Środoniowa M.: Macroscopic plant remains from the freshwater Miocene of the Nowy Sącz Basin (West Carpathians, Poland) [Szczątki makroskopowe roślin z miocenu słodkowodnego Kotliny Sądeckiej (Karpaty Zachodnie, Polska)]. Acta Palaeobotanica 1979 20 (1): 3-117.
^ ^a ^b "RHS Plant Selector - Carpinus betulus". Retrieved 15 April 2020.
^ Childs, Craig (February 1, 2019). "DEATH-CAP MUSHROOMS ARE SPREADING ACROSS NORTH AMERICA". The Atlantic. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
^ "RHS Plant Selector - Carpinus betulus 'Frans Fontaine'". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
^ "RHS Plant Selector - Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata'". Retrieved 15 April 2020.
^ ^a ^b Laudert, Doris (2004). Mythos Baum: Geschichte, Brauchtum, 40 Baumporträts (6., durchges. Aufl ed.). München Wien Zürich: blv. pp. 129–131. ISBN 3-405-16640-3.
^ Hertzka, Gottfried; Strehlow, Wighard (2017). Große Hildegard-Apotheke (17. Auflage ed.). Kissleg-Immenried: Christiana-Verlag im FE-Medienverlag. ISBN 978-3-7171-1119-1.
^ Hornbeam Tree - Gardening Central Archived 2018-08-07 at the Wayback Machine
^ Matthieson, Ben (17 July 2022). "Brennholz aus der Hainbuche: Vorteile und Lagerung". Gartenjournal.net (in German). Retrieved 27 November 2023.
^ "The South Africa (Delville Wood) National Memorial, Longueval". www.greatwar.co.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
^ "ARBOR DAY FINDS OLD TREES LUSTY; Washington's Elm, Lincoln's Hornbeam, and the Oak From the Tomb of Confucius Still Flourish In Capital -- Other Famous Trees (Published 1926)". Section XX. The New York Times. 25 April 1926. p. 13. Retrieved 12 February 2021.