Hornbeam
Carpinus betulus
Birch family (Betulaceae)
Provider of shelter
Although the Dutch name, hedge beech, suggests otherwise, the hornbeam is not a beech at all but belongs to the birch family. This is evident from the strongly serrated leaf margins of this tree, which often sports a shrubby habit. Also the flowers, which are in effect catkins, add to its birch-like appearance. The hornbeam doesn’t mind being pruned and, as the Dutch name implies, is often planted as a garden hedge. In the autumn the dead, withered leaves often remain hanging on the tree and thus the hornbeam hedge provides year round shelter. In the wild the hornbeam can be found in the forests in the southeast of the Netherlands.
The tree originates from central Europe and its wood is very strong so was used to make tools and musical instruments. It was also traditionally used to make wheels for carts, hence its Dutch nickname, the wheel tree.
Themes
Crown jewel on the Twickel Estate and in the Nijmegen Botanic Garden and Kerkrade Botanic Garden.
The wood is traditionally used for chopping blocks, piles and pestles in an oil mill and pinions. The hornbeam wood is also used for butchers' blocks because the wood does not contain substances that spoil the taste of the meat. It has also been used for handles for tools and hammers of pianos, also imitation ebony piano keys.
The leaves are haemostatic used in external compresses to stop bleeding and heal wounds. The plant is also one of those used in Bach flower remedies - the keywords for prescribing it are 'tiredness', 'weariness' and 'mental and physical exhaustion'.
A yellow dye is obtained from the bark.
Carpinus betulus produces one of the strongest woods of all trees native to the Netherlands.
Details
Description: | Tree, up to 15-25 m with a curiously shaped trunk, often described as 'muscular'. |
---|---|
Distributions: | Europe, turkey |
Habitat: | On moist, nutrient-, often calcareous-rich soil in deciduous forests, hedgerows and coppices. |
Year cycle: | Perennial (polycarpic decidous) |
Hardiness: | -4 - 5 f (hardy - very cold winter) |
Flowering period: | April - mei |
Flower color: | Green |
Notes on flowers: | The male flowers are catkins whereas the female flowers emerge from buds at the ends of the twigs; cherry red stigmas catch the pollen from the air. |
Fruiting period: | September - oktober |
Fruit color: | Brown, green |
Notes on fruits: | The fruit is a flattened, longitudinally-grooved, winged nutlet of less than 1 cm encased in a three-pointed involucre - the middle point is much longer than the other two. |
At its best: | Mei, oktober |
Sources
http://www.floron.nl/publicaties/rode-lijst-2012,IUCNredlist.org,
https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/3136/i-Carpinus-betulus-i/Details,
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Carpinus+betulus,
http://www.soortenbank.nl/soorten.php?soortengroep=flora_nl_v2&menuentry=atlas,
https://wilde-planten.nl/haagbeuk.htm