Scientific Name:
Carpinus japonica
Pronunciation:
kar-PINE-us juh-PON-ih-kuh
Common Name:
Japanese hornbeam
Family Name:
Betulaceae
Plant Type:
Tree - deciduous
Key ID Features:
Leaves opposite, lanceolate, most blades 9-11cm long x 3-5cm wide, heavily veined to appear pleated (20-24 pairs of parallel sunken veins), margins deeply serrate with caudate tips; flowers in green catkins about 6cm long; fruit are the tiny nuts that drop from the dry, hop-like papery ornamental catkins. Winter ID: twigs red-brown with vertically elongated, light brown lenticels; buds alternate, conical, up to 9mm long, about 20 scales (older twigs with larger flower buds); catkins on ground below small tree.
Habit:
Upright
Form:
Round
Texture:
Medium
Mature Height:
7 - 10m
Mature Spread:
7 - 10m
Growth Rate:
Slow
Origin:
S.E. Asia / Japan / China (Japan)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 4: (-34 to -29 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun only if soil kept moist, Part sun/part shade, Filtered shade, Deep shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Humus rich, Well-drained
Landscape Uses:
Street (boulevard tree), Woodland margin
Additional Info:
Google. RHS - Award of Garden Merit. Compare to European hophornbeam.
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible, Heavily veined, Pinnate venation
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Summer:
Dark-green
Colour in Fall:
Yellow, Orange
Shapes:
Lanceolate
Apices:
Acuminate
Bases:
Rounded
Margins:
Serrate
Inflorescence Type:
Catkin (ament)
Flower Morphology:
Monoecious plant
Number Of Petals:
0
Colour (petals):
Not showy, Green (female - green; male - yellow)
Flower Time at Peak:
Apr, May
Fruit Type:
Nut
Fruit Colour:
Yellow, Red, Brown
Fruiting Time:
Jul, Aug
Additional Info:
nut 7-8 mm long with three-pointed leafy involucre 3-4 cm long
Bark Morphology:
Lightly fissured
Bark or Stem Colour:
Grey
Leaf Bud Type:
Conical (long-pointed)
Leaf Scar Shape:
Crescent shaped
Organ Modifications:
Ectomycorrhizae
Propagation:
Cuttings
Maintenance:
Low
Pest Susceptibility:
(Pest resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant)
