Hop Hornbeam
Ostrya virginiana
Also known as: Ironwood
Small understory tree with distinctive papery hop-like seed clusters. Exceptionally hard wood (hence "ironwood"). Shaggy strip-peeling bark; slow-growing but very long-lived.
- Family
- Betulaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 25–40 ft
- Spacing
- 20–30 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade, shade
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- April, May
- Bloom colors
- white, yellow, green, brown
- Wildlife value
- songbirds, pollinators
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~94 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- specimen
- Native states
- AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV, WY