Despite its name, the hornbeam is not a beech. It belongs to the birch family. Hornbeams are native to our latitudes and occur in the wild. The hornbeam is popular as a solitary tree or as a hornbeam hedge in the garden, in the cemetery or in parks.

The hornbeam is actually not a beech but a birch tree

Characteristics of the hornbeam

  • Botanical name: Carpinus betulus
  • Tree species: deciduous deciduous tree
  • Common names: hornbeam, hornbeam, horn tree
  • Family: Birch family (Betulaceae)
  • Species: about 170
  • Origin: Central Europe
  • Distribution: Central Europe
  • Age: up to 300 years
  • Height: 15 to 25 meters
  • Crown: broad and round
  • Bark: smooth
  • Wood: very hard wood
  • Root: heart root
  • Leaves: ovate, serrate, 5 - 10 cm long, 3 - 6 cm wide
  • Flowers: monoecious, inconspicuous female flowers, catkin-shaped male flowers
  • Flowering period: May, June
  • Fruits: small nuts about one centimeter long
  • Fruit ripening: September, October
  • Frost hardiness: up to minus 20 degrees
  • Use: ornamental plant, hedge plant
  • Special features: Leaves hang on the tree for a long time and only fall when new growth occurs

The hornbeam is not a beech

The hornbeam got its name because of the resemblance to the leaves of the common beech. It is therefore often confused with the real beech.

use in the garden

The hornbeam is often kept in the garden as a hedge plant. Since it carries the foliage for a long time, it forms a dense privacy screen for most of the winter.

The leaf coloring is also very decorative. Soft green leaves sprout in spring, turning darker in summer. In autumn, the hornbeam leaves turn yellow. The leaves are lighter on the underside than on the upper side.

In the wild, the hornbeam is often found as underplanting for very tall trees. It tolerates shade well and gets along with almost any soil. It just doesn't tolerate waterlogging for a long time, even if it survives short-term flooding unscathed.

Ecological benefits of the hornbeam

Blackbirds and other birds like to build their nests in hornbeams.

In the garden, hornbeam hedges usually do not bear fruit because the hedge is cut in the spring. This removes most of the inflorescences.

History of the Hedge Beech

In the 18th century, the hornbeam, whose name derives from the old German word for hedge beech, was very popular in baroque gardens. There, whole labyrinths, figures, arcades and much more were cut out of the robust hornbeam.

A particularly beautiful example of garden design with hornbeams is the baroque garden of Schleissheim Castle, in which many of these old hornbeams can still be seen today.

tips

Hornbeam wood is one of the hardest woods in Europe. In the past, the hornbeam was therefore used in vehicle construction. Today, due to the less decorative grain, the wood is occasionally used as parquet flooring, in musical instruments, but mostly as firewood.

Category:

Trees