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Ostrya virginiana
Also called American Hophornbeam, Eastern hop hornbeam, Ironwood, Hop hornbeam, American Hop Hornbeam, Leverwood, Eastern Hophornbeam
A small deciduous understory tree of eastern North America, growing to about 18 m, valued for its hard wood and occasionally planted as a street tree. It grows best in woodland-style conditions with some shade and moist, well-drained soil.
Ostrya virginiana, the American hophornbeam, is a species of Ostrya native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Manitoba and eastern Wyoming, southeast to northern Florida and southwest to eastern Texas. Populations from Mexico and Central America are also regarded as the same species, although some authors prefer to separate them as a distinct species, Ostrya guatemalensis. Other names include eastern hophornbeam, hardhack (in New England), ironwood (in Ontario), and leverwood.
In temperate areas of the US and Canada, Ostrya virginiana is found in lowland and foothill forests, where it is predominantly an understory tree.
It is not typically grown as an ornamental plant and is sometimes used as a street tree.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ostrya virginiana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
