to Florida, extending westward to Northern Minnesota, Eastern Nebraska, Kansas Indian Territory, and Eastern Texas. It is also met with in a slightly modified form[1] in the mountainous regions of Southern Mexico and Guatemala. It is most abundant and of its largest size in the southern Alleghany mountains and in Southern Arkansas and Texas.
It was introduced into England by Pursh in 1812; but is very rare in cultivation, the best specimen we have seen being at Arley Castle. It has no claim to be considered as a forest tree, its only merit being the scarlet colour of the foliage in autumn. Elwes gathered seeds of this species near Ottawa in 1904, which did not germinate. (A.H.)
CARPINUS BETULUS, Common Hornbeam
- Carpinus Betulus, Linnæus, Sp. Pl. 998 (1753); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iii. 2004 (1838); Willkomm, Forstliche Flora, 358 (1887); Mathieu, Flore Forestiére, 396 (1897).
- Carpinus vulgaris, Miller, Gard. Dict. ed. 8, No. 1 (1768).
- Carpinus sepium, Lamarck, Fl. Franç. ii. 212 (1778).
- Carpinus compressa, Gilbert, Exerc. ii. 399 (1792).
- Carpinus ulmoides, Gray, Nat. Arrang. Brit. Pl. ii. 245 (1821).
- Carpinus carpinizza, Host, Fl. Austr. ii. 626 (1831).
- Carpinus intermedia, Wierzbicki, in Reichenbach, Icon. Fl. Germ, xii. f. 1297 (1850).
- Carpinus nervata, Dulac, Fl. Haut. Pyrén. 141 (1867).
A tree, usually attaining only a moderate size, 60 or 70 feet in height and 8 feet in girth; but in England occasionally as large as 90 feet by 12 feet. Stem never perfectly circular in section, being more or less longitudinally fluted or ridged, with shallow rounded depressions between the ridges; bark smooth, thin, grey. Young branchlets with scattered long hairs, a very minute dense glandular pubescence being also often present. Leaves (Plate 201, Fig. 4) about 3 inches long by 1¾ inch broad, oval or ovate, acuminate at the apex; broad, unequal, and rounded or slightly cordate at the base; margin bi-serrate, non-ciliate; upper surface dark green, glabrous, or rarely pilose on the midrib and nerves; under surface light green, with appressed long hairs on the midrib and nerves and minute axil tufts; lateral nerves, ten to fifteen pairs, impressed on the upper surface, prominent beneath; petiole ¼ to ½ inch long, pubescent; stipules narrow, lanceolate, ½ inch long, caducous.
Male catkins, about 1½ inch long; scales ovate, acute, entire, veined longitudinally; stamens, 4 to 12, with long yellow anthers. Female catkins, nearly 1 inch long; scales ovate, acuminate, ciliate. Fruit: strobiles up to 3 inches long; involucres loosely imbricated, in pairs, with their pedicels connate for the greater part of their length, three-lobed, the lateral lobes small and usually entire, the middle lobe, about 1½ inch long, entire or minutely serrulate; nutlet, 4 inch long, seven- to eleven-nerved, glabrous, with the apex umbonate and surrounded by a six-lobed calycine ring, within which are the remains of the style.
- ↑ Var. tropicalis, Donnell Smith, Bot. Gaz. xv. 28 (1890).
