Hornbeam
| Hornbeam | |
|---|---|
| |
| European hornbeam foliage | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| (unranked): | |
| (unranked): | |
| (unranked): | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | Carpinus |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Distegocarpus Siebold & Zucc | |
Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus Carpinus in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere.
Origin of names
The common English name "hornbeam" derives from the hardness of the woods (likened to horn) and the Old English "beam", a tree (cognate with German "Baum"). The American hornbeam is also occasionally known as blue-beech, ironwood, or musclewood, the first from the resemblance of the bark to that of the American beech Fagus grandifolia, the other two from the hardness of the wood and the muscular appearance of the trunk, respectively. The botanic name for the genus, Carpinus, is the original Latin name for the European species.
Taxonomy
Though some botanists[according to whom?] grouped them with the hazels (Corylus) and hop-hornbeams (Ostrya) in a segregated family, Corylaceae, modern botanists place the hornbeams in the birch subfamily Coryloideae.[citation needed]
Description
Hornbeams are small to medium sized trees, Carpinus betulus reaching a height of 32 m.[2]: 296 The leaves are deciduous, alternate, and simple with a serrated margin, and typically vary from 3–10 cm in length. The flowers are wind-pollinated pendulous catkins, produced in spring. The male and female flowers are on separate catkins, but on the same tree (monoecious). The fruit is a small nut about 3–6 mm long, held in a leafy bract; the bract may be either trilobed or simple oval, and is slightly asymmetrical. The asymmetry of the seedwing makes it spin as it falls, improving wind dispersal. The shape of the wing is important in the identification of different hornbeam species. Typically, 10–30 seeds are on each seed catkin.
Distribution
The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, with the greatest number of species in east Asia, particularly China. Only two species occur in Europe, only one in eastern North America, and one in Mesoamerica.[1][3][4][5][6] Carpinus betulus can be found in Europe, Turkey and Ukraine.[7]
Associated insects
Hornbeams are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including autumnal moth, common emerald, feathered thorn, walnut sphinx, Svensson's copper underwing, and winter moth (recorded on European Hornbeam) as well as the Coleophora case-bearers C. currucipennella and C. ostryae.[8]
Applications
Hornbeams yield a very hard timber, giving rise to the name "ironwood".[9] Dried heartwood billets are nearly white and are suitable for decorative use. For general carpentry, hornbeam is rarely used, partly due to the difficulty of working it. Its hardness has, however, lent it to use for carving boards, tool handles, handplane soles, coach wheels, piano actions, shoe lasts, and other uses where a very tough, hard wood is required. Perhaps most interestingly as gear pegs in simple machines, including traditional windmills.[9] It is sometimes coppiced to provide hardwood poles. It is also used in parquet flooring and for making chess pieces.
Hornbeam has been listed as one of the 38 substances used to prepare Bach flower remedies,[10] a kind of alternative medicine promoted for its effect on mental or emotional health. However, according to Cancer Research UK, "there is no scientific evidence to prove that flower remedies can control, cure or prevent any type of disease, including cancer".[11]
Species
Accepted species[1]
- Carpinus betulus L. — European hornbeam - widespread across much of Europe; Turkey, Iran, Caucasus; naturalized in a few places in US.[7]
- Carpinus caroliniana Walter — American hornbeam - Quebec, Ontario, eastern half of US
- Carpinus chuniana Hu - Guangdong, Guizhou, Hubei
- Carpinus cordata Blume — Sawa hornbeam - Primorye, China, Korea, Japan
- Carpinus dayongiana K.W.Liu & Q.Z.Lin - Hunan
- Carpinus eximia Nakai - Korea
- Carpinus faginea Lindl. - Nepal, Himalayas of northern India
- Carpinus fangiana Hu[12] - Sichuan, Guangxi
- Carpinus hebestroma Yamam. - Taiwan
- Carpinus henryana (H.J.P.Winkl.) H.J.P.Winkl. - southern China
- Carpinus japonica Blume — Japanese hornbeam - Japan
- Carpinus kawakamii Hayata - Taiwan, southeastern China
- Carpinus kweichowensis Hu - Guizhou, Yunnan
- Carpinus laxiflora (Siebold & Zucc.) Blume — Aka-shide hornbeam - Japan, Korea
- Carpinus lipoensis Y.K.Li - Guizhou
- Carpinus londoniana H.J.P.Winkl. - southern China, northern Indochina
- Carpinus luochengensis J.Y.Liang - Guangxi
- Carpinus mengshanensis S.B.Liang & F.Z.Zhao - Shandong
- Carpinus microphylla Z.C.Chen ex Y.S.Wang & J.P.Huang - Guangxi
- Carpinus mollicoma Hu - Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan
- Carpinus monbeigiana Hand.-Mazz. - Tibet, Yunnan
- Carpinus omeiensis Hu & W.P.Fang - Sichuan, Guizhou
- Carpinus orientalis Mill. — Oriental hornbeam - Hungary, Balkans, Italy, Crimea, Turkey, Iran, Caucasus
- Carpinus paohsingensis W.Y.Hsia - China
- Carpinus polyneura Franch. - southern China
- Carpinus pubescens Burkill - China, Vietnam
- Carpinus purpurinervis Hu - Guizhou, Guangxi
- Carpinus putoensis W.C.Cheng — Putuo hornbeam - Zhejiang
- Carpinus rankanensis Hayata - Taiwan
- Carpinus rupestris A.Camus - Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou
- Carpinus shensiensis Hu - Gansu, Shaanxi
- Carpinus shimenensis C.J.Qi - Hunan
- †Carpinus tengshongensis W.C.Cheng[13] - Zhejiang but probably extinct
- Carpinus tropicalis (Donn.Sm.) Lundell - Mexico, Central America
- Carpinus tsaiana Hu - Yunnan, Guizhou
- Carpinus tschonoskii Maxim. — Chonowski's hornbeam - China, Korea, Japan
- Carpinus turczaninowii Hance — Turkzaninov's hornbeam - China, Korea, Japan
- Carpinus viminea Wall. ex Lindl. - China, Korea, Himalayas, northern Indochina
See also
- Acer carpinifolium, hornbeam maple
References
- ^ a b c Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ^ Stace, C.A. (2010). New flora of the British Isles (Third ed.). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521707725.
- ^ Flora of China, Vol. 4 Page 289, 鹅耳枥属 e er li shu, Carpinus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 998. 1753.
- ^ Flora of North America, Vol. 3, Hornbeam, Carpinus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 998. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 432, 1754.
- ^ Altervista Flora Italiana
- ^ Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution maps
- ^ a b "Carpinus betulus". 2.nd Ed., The Royal Horticultural Society, Dorling Kindersley Ltd, London, pp. 234, 235.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Miscellaneous Publication. U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1972. p. 297.
- ^ a b Eichhorn, Marks; Haran, Brady (2011-12-01). "The Hornbeam's Heartbeat". Test Tube. University of Nottingham. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
{{cite web}}: External link in|work= - ^ D. S. Vohra (1 June 2004). Bach Flower Remedies: A Comprehensive Study. B. Jain Publishers. p. 3. ISBN 978-81-7021-271-3. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- ^ "Flower remedies". Cancer Research UK. Retrieved September 2013.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Carpinus fangiana". Rogers Trees and Shrubs.
- ^ Dai, Jing; Sun, Bainian; Xie, Sanping; Lin, Zhicheng; Wu, Jingyu; Dao, Kequn (2013). "A new species of Carpinus (Betulaceae) from the Pliocene of Yunnan Province, China". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 299 (3): 643–658. doi:10.1007/s00606-012-0750-1.
External links
- Eichhorn, Markus (December 2011). "Hornbeam". Test Tube. Brady Haran for the University of Nottingham.