Authority:

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

Family:

Betulaceae

Description:

Species Description - Tall shrub or small tree to 10 m, with flattened trunk and smooth, muscular-looking, blue-gray or ashy-gray bark; lvs oblong to oblong-ovate, 5–12 cm, acute or shortly acuminate, sharply and often doubly serrate; fruiting catkins ovoid to short-cylindric, 2–5 cm, the bracts (1.5–)2–3(–4) cm, halberd-shaped, with 1 or 2 divergent basal lobes, entire or with a few coarse teeth especially along one side of the middle lobe. Moist woods; N.S. to Minn., s. to Fla. and Tex. Most of our plants belong to the var. virginiana (Marshall) Fernald, with the lvs beset with conspicuous dark glands beneath. Along the s. margin of our range this passes into var. caroliniana of se. U.S., lacking the dark glands of the often smaller and less toothed lvs, and with blunter, less toothed bracts.

Common Names:

hornbeam, blue beech, musclewood, ironwood