AMERICAN HORNBEAM
Carpinus caroliniana, Walt.
Form.—Small tree, usually from 10-25 feet high; trunk short, often leaning, fluted and bearing an irregular crown of slender, often zigzag branches.
Leaves.—Alternate, simple, 2-4 inches long, thin, oval, long-pointed, doubly serrate, dull green above, lighter beneath, scarlet and orange in autumn.
Flowers.—Appear in April; monoecious; without petals; staminate catkins 1-1½ inches long; the pistillate shorter, with greenish scales and red styles.
Fruit.—Small nuts, enclosed in 3-lobed, leafy bracts grouped on a common drooping stem.
Bark.—Gray, smooth, thin, tight.
Wood.—Heavy, hard, tough, close-grained, light brown with thick nearly white sapwood.
Range.—Northern states to Florida and Texas.
Distribution in West Virginia.—Common throughout the State.
Habitat.—Moist soil of stream borders, swamps and hillsides.
Notes.—This species, commonly called Water Beech, is of no commercial importance, but is attractive on lawns, especially in autumn, and performs a valuable service in preventing the caving in of stream banks where it grows.