#carpinus

Plant of the Day

Wednesday 20 April 2022

Under a Carpinus betulus (hornbeam) hedge the Viola riviniana (dog-violet, wood violet) is thriving. This mat-forming rhizomatous perennial grows in moist but well–drained soil but will tolerate drought once established.

Spring light through European hornbeam trees (Carpinus betulus)

I was walking down thepath thinking I should work on learning trees by their bark, since it's winter, then the next tree in front of me was an ironwood, a common but distinctive one. AND THEN, what should appear in front of me, but a shagbark hickory!? Which is cool, VERY distinctive, and not common at all!

Plant of the Day

Friday 30 October 2020

This veteran Carpinus betulus (common hornbeam) is a beautiful feature of the historic landscape of Hylands Park, Chelmsford, UK. This large deciduous tree develops a fluted, grey twisted trunk as it ages. Mature trees can reach a height of 30m and live for more than 300 years.

Plant of the Day

Sunday 29 March 2020

The landscape of Wimpole Hall, Cambridge, has a history of dramatic avenues. Here is a more recently replanted one of the UK native Carpinus betulus (hornbeam). This deciduous tree has pale grey bark with vertical markings, the mature trees can reach up to 30m and live for more than 300 years. In the low spring sunshine the older landscape feature of ‘ridge and furrow’ (lynchet) topography was apparent. This was a result of ploughing with non-reversible ploughs on the same strip of land each year. It is visible on land that was ploughed in the Middle Ages, and has not been ploughed since then, here it has been grazing land.