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Carpinus caroliniana |
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Family: Betulaceae |
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American Hornbeam |
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The
genus Carpinus is represented by about 30 species that grow in the New World
[1] and Eurasia [30]. Carpinus
is the classical Latin name.
Carpinus
betulus: European Hornbeam—Avenbok, Carpe, Carpe Blanco, Carpen, Carpino
Biannco, Charme, Charme Commun, Charme Comun, Charrlle, Charrlle Commun, Common
Hornbeam, Dyed Hornbeam, Gemeine-weib-buche, Gem Weissbuche, Gewone Haagbeuk,
Grab, Gyertyan, Haagbeuk, Habr Obecny, Hagabuche, Hage-buche, Hain-buche,
Hojaranzo, Hornbaum, Hornbeam, Horn-buche, Steinbuch, Vitavenbok, Vit-bok, Weissbuche,
Witch Elm
Carpinus
caroliniana: American Hornbeam—Blue Beech, Broomwood, Hophornbeam, Ironwood,
Musclewood, O-tan-tahr-te-weh, Smoothbark Ironwood, Water Beech
Carpinus
carpinoides: Hornbeam, Kuma-shide
Carpinus
caucasia: Caucasian Hornbeam
Carpinus
cordata: Ggachibagdal, Russian Hornbeam, Sawashiba
Carpinus
distegocarpus: Kuma-shide
Carpinus
hebestroma: Taroko-sidi
Carpinus
japonica: Kuma-shide, Soya
Carpinus
laxiflora: Aka-shide, Hornbeam, Seo-namu, Soro Shide
Carpinus
orientalis: Oriental Hornbeam—Carpinella, Charme d’Orient, Eastern Hornbeam,
Hojaranzo, Oosterse Haagbeuk, Orientalisk Avenbok
Carpinus
polyneura: Chinese Hornbeam
Carpinus
pubescens: Giau Do
Carpinus
rankanensis: Rankan-side
Carpinus
schuschaensis: Iran Hornbeam
Carpinus
seki: Taiwan-akashide
Carpinus
tschonoskii: Gaeseo-namu, Inu-shide, Korean Hornbeam
Distribution
North
America, from central Maine to southern Quebec, southern Ontario, northern
Iowa, Missouri, eastern Oklahoma and eastern Texas, east to central Florida.
Northeastern Mexico (Tamaulipas) and from southern Mexico to Guatemala and
Honduras.
The
Tree
The
American Hornbeam is a small tree that grows in mixed deciduous forests in the
shade of taller hardwoods in bottom lands and river margins. It grows in association
with oaks, sweetgum, hickories, maple and basswood. The tree grows slowly and
is short lived. It masts every 3 to 5 years, producing large amounts of seed.
Imperfect flowers are produced on separate catkins on the same tree.
The
Wood
General
The
tree’s name (horn=tough and beam~baum=tree) describes the wood, which is tough,
hard and heavy. Colonial settlers in America used it for bowls and dishes
because it rarely split or cracked. Hornbeam has a thick, nearly white sapwood
and a heartwood which is pale yellow to tan. It has no characteristic odor or
taste. The wood is heavy and hard.
Mechanical
Properties (2-inch standard)
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Compression |
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Specific gravity |
MOE 106 lbf/in2 |
MOR 103 lbf/in2 |
Parallel 103 lbf/in2 |
Perpendicular 103 lbf/in2 |
WML* in-lbf/in3 |
Hardness lbf |
Shear 103 lbf/in2 |
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Green |
0.58 |
0.99 |
6.8 |
2.67 |
0.73 |
19 |
940 |
1.16 |
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Dry |
0.70 |
1.08 |
12.2 |
5.68 |
2.00 |
37 |
1,780 |
2.41 |
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Reference (4). *WML = Work to maximum load. |
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Drying
and Shrinkage
Hornbeam
checks and warps badly in seasoning
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Shrinkage (% of green) |
Green, 0% MC |
Green, 6% MC |
Green, 12% MC* |
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Tangential |
11.4 (4) |
– |
7 (2) |
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Radial |
5.7 (4) |
– |
5 (2) |
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Volumetric |
19.1 (4) |
– |
– |
*This
column is for C. betulus.
Kiln
Drying Schedule: British Schedule E (2).
Working
Properties: Difficult to work.
Durability:
Nonresistant to heartwood decay.
Preservation:
No information available at this time.
Uses:
Tool handles, levers, parts for farm machinery, fuel wood.
Toxicity:
Wood is said to have irritant effects (5).
Additional
Reading and References Cited (in parentheses)
1. Elias, T.S. 1980. The complete trees of North
America, field guide and natural history. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York,
948 pp.
2. Farmer, R.H. 1972. Handbook of hardwoods, 2nd
Edition. HMSO, London, pp. 39-40.
3. Little, Jr., E.L.1979. Checklist of United
States trees (native and naturalized). USDA Forest Service, Ag. Handbook No.
541, USGPO, Washington, DC.
4. Markwardt, L.J. and T.R.C. Wilson. 1935.
Strength and related properties of woods grown in the United States. USDA
Forest Service, Tech. Bull. No. 479. USGPO, Washington, DC.
5. Mitchell, J. and A. Rook. 1979. Botanical
Dermatology. Plant and plant products injurious to the skin. Greengrass Press,
Vancouver, 787 pp.
6. Panshin, A.J. and C. de Zeeuw. 1980. Textbook
of Wood Technology, 4th Ed., McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 722 pp.
7. Record, S.J. and R.W. Hess. 1943. Timbers of
the new world. Yale University Press, New Haven, 640 pp.
8. Summitt, R. and A. Sliker. 1980. CRC handbook
of materials science. Volume 4, wood. CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL. 459 pp.