American Hornbeam – 6/4/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein

Observation Date: 6/4/11

Observation Time: 4:20 p.m.

Observation Location: Conservation land near Billings Street

Common Name: American Hornbeam

Scientific Name: Carpinus caroliniana

Comments: The common English name hornbeam derives from the hardness of the wood (likened to animal horn) and the Old English beam, meaning “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. Hornbeams are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species (i.e. butterflies and moths), including autumnal moth, common emerald, feathered thorn, walnut sphinx, Svensson’s copper underwing, and winter moth. 

More Information: Wikipedia