Carpinus betulus - Hornbeam

An ancient hornbeam at Mottisfont Abbey, in Hampshire

Hornbeams, native to south-east England and introduced elsewhere in the British Isles, provide very hard timber - so hard that it has acquired the common name ironwood. This was the traditional raw material for making wooden-axled cartwheels and gears in early machinery.

Old hornbeams are distinguished by their fluted trunks

At a glance very similar to beech trees, hornbeams are easily overlooked; their leaves are rather smaller and more deeply furrowed between the veins compared with beech leaves, but otherwise they are of similar shape and colour.

The deeply-furrowed leaves of a hornbeam in springtime

Mature hornbeams have fluted trunks, whereas beeches are much smoother; however, the most obvious distinction becomes immediately apparent when the seeds appear. Hornbeam seeds have wings, whereas those of beech trees do not.

The winged seeds of a European hornbeam, Carpinus betulus

In the south-east of England hornbeam is polular for hedging; many fine hornbeam hedges can be seen at RHS Wisley, for example

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