BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Ostrya virginiana | Eastern Hophornbeam 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Eastern hophornbeam is a small, slow-growing, shapely tree usually not
more than 35 feet (11 m) tall and 12 inches (30 cm) in d.b.h.
[8,10,17].  The tree develops a broad top (sometimes as much as 50 feet
[15 m] across) of small, spreading branches [6,14].  The leaves are
alternate with slender hairy stems.  The twigs are tipped with slender,
cylindrical buds.  The pistillate flowers are in slender catkins.  The
hoplike fruit is 1 to 2 inches (2.5-5 cm) long and borne on short,
slender stems.  The thin, gray bark forms narrow, platelike scales
[34,36,44].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Seed production and dissemination:  Eastern hophornbeam can easily be
propagated from seed [19,32].  The hoplike stobile begins to break up
immediately after ripening, and the lightweight seeds are dispersed by
wind and birds throughout the fall and early winter.  Trees begin to
produce fruit at age 25 [23,26,34].

Seedling development:  Seeds usually germinate in the spring the year
after they are shed.  Germination is epigeal.  Seeds require
stratification to overcome a form of internal dormancy.  Germination
capacity is 27 to 65 percent [23].

Vegetative reproduction:  Cut, burned, or injured trees commonly sprout
from the stump.  The proportion of stump sprouting increases with stump
height [23,40].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Eastern hophornbeam grows on a wide variety of sites but is most common
on dry-mesic and mesic valley bottoms and lower slopes.  Best
development occurs on loamy soils in ravines, on lower slopes, and on
well-drained floodplains of major rivers.  The lowest slope that it
occupies is determined by its intolerance to flooding [25,29,31].  Soil
pH ranges from 4.2 to 7.6 in the northern half of its range and 4.6 to
5.6 in the southern half .  Elevation ranges from 250 to 750 feet
(75-230 m) in Quebec to 5,000 feet (1,520 m) in the southern
Appalachians, but the species is most common at elevations ranging from
2,800 to 3,200 feet (850-980 m) [2,23,41].

Common tree associates include American elm (Ulmus americana), blackgum
(Nyssa sylvatica), sassafras (Sassafras albidium), flowering dogwood
(Cornus florida), hickories (Carya spp.), American holly (Ilex opaca),
and American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana).  Shrub associates include
mountain maple (Acer spicatum), roundleaf dogwood (Cornus rugosa), witch
hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), American elder (Sambucus canadensis),
American yew (Taxus canadensis), hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium),
beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), southern bayberry (Myrica cerifera),
and greenbriers (Smilax spp.)  [33,38,45].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Obligate Climax Species

Eastern hophornbeam typically grows in climax forests in the northern
parts of its range.  It is classed as tolerant and will reproduce well
under full shade.  It is ranked high as a species climax potential
[3,23].  In the Southeast, eastern hophornbeam is associated with a
later seral stage that follows the pioneer pine communities.  It first
appears in Peidmont pine stands after about 90 years and in the
bottomland hardwoods after about 36 years [1,15,23].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
In the North, flowering occurs from mid-May to mid-June, and in the
South from late March to mid-April.  The fruits ripen by the end of
August in the North and as late as October in the South [23,34].

Related categories for Species: Ostrya virginiana | Eastern Hophornbeam