Ostrya carpinifolia


Ostrya carpinifolia, the European hop-hornbeam, is a tree in the family Betulaceae. It is the only species of the genus Ostrya that is native to Europe.
The specific epithet carpinifolia means "hornbeam-leaved", from, the Latin word for "hornbeam".

Distribution

Ostrya carpinifolia is found in Lebanon, Italy, France, Austria, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria, southern Switzerland and Turkey.
It is found in the medium elevations, in southern Italy and Sicily, in the South Apennine mixed montane forests ecoregion of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Biome.

Description

Ostrya carpinifolia is a broadleaf deciduous tree, that can reach up to. It has a conical or irregular crown and a scaly, rough bark, and alternate and double-toothed birch-like leaves 3–10 cm long.
The flowers are produced in spring, with male catkins long and female catkins long. The fruit form in pendulous clusters long with 6–20 seeds; each seed is a small nut long, fully enclosed in a bladder-like involucre.

Uses

The wood is very heavy and hard, and was historically used to fashion plane soles.
Ostrya are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species.