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
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Musclewood at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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.
)
JK Marlow jkm191222_2362_c_carolini
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_233
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_carpinus_caroliniana
January
)
Gill Newberry gn03_carpinus_earlyspring
March
)
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).
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm160326_099
March Laurens County SC
)
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).
)
Roxanna Martin rlm31812_165
March Spartanburg County SC
Pistillate catkin left, at twig tip; staminate catkin on previous season's wood.
)
Roxanna Martin rlm31812_90
March Spartanburg County SC
)
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).
COMPARE
bark of American Hornbeam and Tag Alder
)
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).
)
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).
)
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).
)
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).
)
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).
)
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.
COMPARE
Hop-hornbeam and Hornbeam
)
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
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
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!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p063
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p279
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p300
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p449
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p230
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p064
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p016
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p094
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p227
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p42
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p228
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p084
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".