Carpinus caroliniana
| Carpinus caroliniana | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 39' |
| Width: | 33' |
| Speed: | Slow |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Carpinus caroliniana (common name: american hornbeam)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in an outdoors seedbed as soon as it is ripe[1]. Germination is usually good, though it may take 18 months[2]. If collected whilst still 'green' (after the seed is ripe but before it has dried fully on the plant) and sown immediately it should germinate in the following spring[2]. Grow the plants on for two years in the seedbed and then plant them out into their permanent positions in the winter. The average seed viability is around 65%[3].
Pre-treat stored seed with 4 weeks warm and 12 weeks cold stratification and sow in a cold frame[3]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame until they are at least 15cm tall before planting them into their permanent positions.
Cultivation: Thrives in any good loam, including chalk, it does not demand much light[4][5]. Prefers a deep open loam[4]. Grows well in heavy clay soils.
A slow-growing and short-lived tree in the wild[6], it is slower growing than C. betulinus in cultivation[5]. Seed production is cyclic, a year of heavy yields being followed by 2 - 4 years of low yields[6].
Range: Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Ontario, south to Florida and Texas.
Habitat: Usually found as an understorey tree in rich woods and the borders of streams and swamps in deep rich moist soils[7][8][6].
Edibility: Seed - cooked[9]. An emergency food, used when all else fails[10].
Medicinal: American hornbeam was employed medicinally by some native North American Indian tribes, though it is not used in modern herbalism[11].
The inner bark is astringent[11]. An infusion has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea and difficult urination with discharge[11].
Usage: Wood - heavy, close grained, very hard, strong, but not very durable in the soil. It weighs 45lb per cubic foot. Too small to be exploited commercially, this high quality wood is often used locally for flooring, cogs, tool handles, golf clubs etc[12][13][8][14][15][16][6][17]. It is especially suitable for making levers[14] and is also a good fuel[13].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Late Fall
Flower Type: Monoecious
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Also Known As: C. americana.
Links
References
- ↑ Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 McMillan-Browse, Philip. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books, 1985.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gordon, A and D Rowe. Seed Manual for Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. 1982.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.
- ↑ Lauriault, Jean. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada. Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1989.
- ↑ Vines, Robert. Trees of North Texas. University of Texas Press, 1982.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.