TREES OF NORTH CAROLINA 35 



BIRCH FAMILY 

 (BETULACEAE) 



35. Ostrya virginica (Mill.) K. Koch. Hop Hornbeam. 



A small tree found along the edges of low grounds 

 and on rocky river hanks in the Piedmont from 

 Orange County westward, and in good soil in the 

 mountains to an elevation of 5200 feet. Not nearly 

 so plentiful as the next. Bark scurfy-scaly; leaves 

 elm-like; fruit a hop-like cluster of bracts each en- 

 closing a little nut; wood very hard and tough, use- 

 ful for mallets, wedges, cogs, levers, etc. Dates of 

 flowering: March 25, 1903; April 1, 1909; April 

 16, 1916. Examples: small trees at edge of low 

 grounds, by road to Scott's Hole. 



36. Carpinus caroliniana Walt. Hornbeam or Iron- 



wood. 



A small crooked tree with ridged trunk and close, 

 hard bark, common along streams and in rich woods 

 in the middle and western parts of the state, less com- 

 mon and retiring to deeper swamps in the coastal 

 plain. Leaves elm-like, doubly toothed ; fruit a small 

 nut at the base of a leaf-like bract; wood very hard 

 and used for the same purposes as the above. Dates 

 of flowering: March 20, 1903; March 28, 1910; 

 April 2, 1912; April 15, 1915; April 5, 1916. Ex- 

 amples: trees along Battle's branch. 



37. Betula nigra L. River Birch, Black Birch. 



A common tree along creeks and rivers in the Pied- 

 mont and along larger rivers in the coastal plain and 



