The Trees of Vermont 95 



BETULACEAE 



Aniericau Hornbeam. Blue Beeoli. Water Beecli 

 Carpinus caroliniana Walt. 



Habit. — Usually a low, bushy tree or large shrub, 10-30 feet high, 

 with a trunk diameter of 6-12 inches; trunk short, usually tinted; 

 slender zigzag branches and a fine spray form a close, fiat-topped crown. 



Leaves. — Alternate, simple, 2-4 inches long and one-half as broad ; 

 ovate to oval, long-pointed ; sharply doubly serrate ; thin and firm ; dull 

 green above, lighter beneath, turning scarlet and orange in autumn ; 

 petioles short, slender, hairy. 



Flowers. — May, after the leaves ; monoecious ; apetalous ; the 

 staminate catkins 1-1 3^ inches long, their scales greenish, boat-shaped, 

 each bearing 3-20 stamens ; the pistillate catkins Yz-Ya inch long, their 

 scales hairy, greenish, each bearing 2 pistils with long, scarlet styles. 



Fruit. — Ripens in midsummer, but often remains on the tree long 

 after the leaves have fallen ; in loose, terminal strobiles ; involucre 

 halberd-shaped, inclosing a small, ovate, brownish nut. 



Winter-buds. — Terminal bud absent; lateral buds J,8 inch long, 

 narrow-ovoid, acute, puberulous, brownish. 



Bark. — Twigs pale green, hairy, becoming lustrous, dark red the 

 first winter ; trunk and large limbs thin, smooth, close, dark bluisli 

 gray, often mottled with lighter or darker patches. 



Wood. — Heavy, hard, tough, very strong, close-grained, light 

 brown, with thick, whitish sapwood. 



Distribution. — Frequent throughout Vermont at the lower alti- 

 tudes. 



Habitat. — Deep, rich, moist soil along the borders of streams and 

 swamps. Often found in drier situations in the shade of other trees. 



Notes. — The blue beech is a small, bushy tree rarely over twenty 

 feet high. It is not uncommon in moist soil along streams, but does 

 not reach the higher altitudes. It is distinguished in spring by its tiny 

 flowers arranged in loose catkins and in July by the curious leaf-like 

 wings which develop upon the fruit. A glance at its trunk makes its 

 recognition certain at any time of year. It has a close, gray bark re- 

 sembling that of the beech but with furrows and ridges suggesting the 

 muscles of a strong man's arm. It is the toughest of all our woods. 



