AMERICAN HORNBEAM
Carpinus caroliniana, Walt.
Form.—Small tree, usually from 10-25 feet high; trunk short, often leaning, fluted and bearing an irregular crown of slender, often zigzag branches.
Leaves.—Alternate, simple, 2-4 inches long, thin, oval, long-pointed, doubly serrate, dull green above, lighter beneath, scarlet and orange in autumn.
Flowers.—Appear in April; monoecious; without petals; staminate catkins 1-1½ inches long; the pistillate shorter, with greenish scales and red styles.
Fruit.—Small nuts, enclosed in 3-lobed, leafy bracts grouped on a common drooping stem.
Bark.—Gray, smooth, thin, tight.
Wood.—Heavy, hard, tough, close-grained, light brown with thick nearly white sapwood.