Identifying a Hornbeam Tree
A full grown hornbeam will live for up to 350 years (if pollarded or coppiced) and can grow up to 30m tall.
The common beech is often confused for the hornbeam. It has a smooth, stubby and warped trunk, which turns rigged with age. The grey bark is pale and has vertical marking running down them. Twigs have small hairs and are brown to grey in colour. Leaf buds are much like beech buds, only a little bit shorter, with a slight curve at the tips. The leaves are oval shaped, toothed and have pointed tips. They are smaller and more furrowed compared to beech; they also turn from yellow to orange during autumn before they fall.
Hornbeam has a monoecious reproductive system, meaning that the male and female flowers (catkins) are located within the same … Read the rest