STAFDLEY — TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 169 



2. OSTBYA Scop. Fl. Carn. 414. 1760. 

 1. Ostrya guatemalensis (Winkl.) Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 8: 292. 1905. 



Ostrya italica virginiana guatemalensis Winkl. in Engl. Pflanzenreicli IV. 61 : 

 22. 1904. 



Ostrya mexicana Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 8: 292. 1905. 



Veracruz to Tabasco and Chiapas. Guatemala (type locality) to Costa 

 Rica. 



Tree, 12 to 15 meters high or smaller, with thin, light brown bark ; leaves 

 ovate, doubly serrate; staminate flowers in slender catkins; fruits surrounded 

 by bladder-like bracts, arranged in strobiles like those of common hops 

 (Huimdus luijulus L. ). Commonly known as " guapaque." 



This is very closely related to 0. virginiana (Mill.) Koch, but seems fairly 

 distinct. In the Guatemalan form the pubescence is slightly more copious 

 than in the plants of Veracruz, but there appears to be no essential difference 

 between the two. 



The wood of the ironwood is very strong, tough, and durable. It is used for 

 railroad ties and other purposes. The bark is used for dyeing and tanning. 



3. CABPINUS L. Sp. PI. 998. 1753. 

 1. Carpinus caroliniana Walt. Fl. Carol. 236. 1788. 



Carpinus caroliniana tropicalis Donn. Smith, Bot. Gaz. 15: 28. 1890. 



Veracruz to Jalisco and Chiapas. Guatemala; eastern United States and 

 Canada, the type from Carolina. 



Tree, sometimes 12 meters high, the trunk up to 60 cm. in diameter, usually 

 compressed or fluted, the bark thin, smooth, grayish ; leaves oblong-ovate, acu- 

 minate ; staminate catkins 2 to 3 cm. long ; wood hard, light brown, very difficult 

 to Avork, its specific gravity about 0.73. " Lechillo," " palo silo," " palo ba- 

 rrauco " (Michoacan, Altamirano) . 



Carpinus caroliniana tropicalis is a form with more copious pubescence than 

 the type. Both forms of the American hornbeam occur in Mexico. 



