BETULACEAE 



American Hornbeam. Bluebeech 



Carpinus caroliniana Walt. 



HABIT. A large shrub or small bushy tree rarely 40 feet 

 high and 1 foot in diameter; trunk characteristically fluted; 

 crown close and flat-topped with slender, zigzag branches. 



LEAVES. Alternate; simple; ovate to oval; 2-4 inches long; 

 deciduous; acuminate; sharply doubly serrate; thin and tough; 

 dull dark green above, paler below. 



FLOWERS. Regular; monoecious; perianth absent; appear- 

 ing with leaves ; staminate in aments 1 Yz inches long, with green, 

 hairy scales, each flower with 3-20 stamens; pistillate in loose 

 aments Vi-H inch long, with green, hairy scales, each bearing 

 2 pistils with scarlet styles. 



FRUIT. Small (Va inch), 1 -seeded, ovoid, flat, brown, un- 

 winged nut; attached to base of halbard-shaped, leafy involucre; 

 in loose strobiles. 



TWIGS. Slender; round; pale green at first, becoming lustrous 

 and red-brown. Winter buds: terminal absent, lateral Y^ inch 

 long, rusty brown, acute, scaly, usually 4-sided in cross section. 



BARK. Thin; smooth; blue-gray; often mottled with light 

 or dark patches; with fluted trunk an unmistakable character. 



WOOD. Heavy; hard; strong; unimportant. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Tolerant; slow-growing; lateral 

 root; on varied sites but prefers moist soil. 



Hazelnut 



Corylus L. 



Three shrubby species are native to North America and one 

 of these, Corylus cornuta var. californica (A. OC.) Sharp, may 

 occasionally reach tree size in California. The other two species 

 are small eastern shrubs known for their edible nuts, American 

 Hazelnut (C. americana Walt.) and Beaked Hazelnut (C. cornuta 

 Marsh, var. cornuta). The Giant Filbert, Corylus maxima Mill., 

 ot southern Europe is planted in warm parts of the United States. 

 The hazelnuts are characterized by deciduous, alternate, simple, 

 oval to ovate, doubly serrate leaves; scaly lateral buds; and an 

 ovoid nut surrounded by a leafy, toothed involucre. 



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