hornbeam

horn·beam

H0278000 (hôrn′bēm′)n.1. Any of various small deciduous trees of the genus Carpinus, having smooth grayish bark, small nuts borne in leaflike bracts, and hard wood.2. The wood of one of these trees.

[So called because its finely grained wood resembles horn when polished.]

hornbeam

(ˈhɔːnˌbiːm) n1. (Plants) any tree of the betulaceous genus Carpinus, such as C. betulus of Europe and Asia, having smooth grey bark and hard white wood2. (Plants) the wood of any of these trees Brit equivalent: ironwood [C14: from horn + beam, referring to its tough wood]

horn•beam

(ˈhɔrnˌbim)

n. any of various North American trees belonging to the genus Carpinus, of the birch family, yielding a hard heavy wood. [1570–80]

Thesaurus

Noun

hornbeam - any of several trees or shrubs of the genus CarpinusCarpinus, genus Carpinus - mostly deciduous monoecious trees or shrubs: hornbeams; sometimes placed in subfamily CarpinaceaeCarpinus betulus, European hornbeam - medium-sized Old World tree with smooth grey bark and leaves like beech that turn yellow-orange in autumnAmerican hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana - tree or large shrub with grey bark and blue-green leaves that turn red-orange in autumntree - a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms

Translations

Hainbuchecharmecarpino

hornbeam

ironwood,

name in North America for two groups of trees of the family Betulaceae (birchbirch,
common name for some members of the Betulaceae, a family of deciduous trees or shrubs bearing male and female flowers on separate plants, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. They are valued for their hardwood lumber and edible fruits and as ornamental trees.
..... Click the link for more information. family), native to the eastern half of the continent. Carpinus caroliniana, also called blue beech and water beech, has smooth gray bark. The hop hornbeam, Ostrya virginiana, has thin, narrowly ridged, light-brown bark. The strong, heavy wood of both species is used for tool handles, mallets, and vehicle parts. Many valuable hardwood timber trees of other families are called ironwood, especially in Australia and in the Old World tropics. Hornbeams are classified in the division MagnoliophytaMagnoliophyta
, division of the plant kingdom consisting of those organisms commonly called the flowering plants, or angiosperms. The angiosperms have leaves, stems, and roots, and vascular, or conducting, tissue (xylem and phloem).
..... Click the link for more information. , class Magnoliopsida, order Fagales, family Betulaceae.

Hornbeam

(Carpinus), a genus of deciduous trees, more rarely bushes, of the filbert family. The trunk has a smooth gray bark, and the leaves are regular, simple, and double-toothed. The blossoms are dioecious and sometimes monoecious. The staminates have hanging catkins of bracteal scales and no perianths. The pistillates have small-blossomed crown catkins. The fruit is a one-celled monospermous nut with a leaf-like cupule. There are about 50 species in Europe, East Asia, and North America (which has one species). In the USSR there are five genera, which are found in the western European part, the Crimea, the Caucasus, and the southern part of Primor’e Krai. They grow mainly in two stories and in the underbrush of broadleaf forests. Hornbeams grow well in moist, loose, rich soils, but they will not tolerate marshy or acid conditions. Some types are found in dry lime-soil locations and on mountain slopes. They are used as ornamental trees in gardens and parks. The heavy, hard wood is used in the production of loom shuttles, musical instruments, and other objects, as well as in machine building.

The most common species are the European hornbeam (C. betulus) and the Caucasian hornbeam (C. caucasicus). These trees reach 20–30 m; their leaves are ovate or oblong-ovate and pointed. The nut is in a three-lobed bract. The trees begin to bear fruit when they are 20 years old and produce a crop of 1–1.5 tons per hectare. They are resistant to cold and bear pruning well. The eastern hornbeam, or little hornbeam (C. orientalis), grows in the Crimea and the Caucasus. It is a bush or small tree that has smaller leaves than the other species and an unlobed cupule on the fruits.

REFERENCE

Derev’ia i kustarniki SSSR, vol. 2. Moscow-Leningrad, 1951.

S. K. CHEREPANOV

hornbeam

[′hȯrn‚bēm] (botany) Any tree of the genus Carpinus in the birch family distinguished by doubly serrate leaves and by small, pointed, angular winter buds with scales in four rows.

hornbeam

1. any tree of the betulaceous genus Carpinus, such as C. betulus of Europe and Asia, having smooth grey bark and hard white wood 2. the wood of any of these trees

hornbeam

horn·beam

hornbeam

horn•beam

hornbeam

hornbeam

ironwood,

Hornbeam

REFERENCE

hornbeam

hornbeam

HORNBEAM

hornbeam

Words related to hornbeam

noun any of several trees or shrubs of the genus Carpinus

Related Words