ILLINOIS TREES: SELECTION, PLANTING. AND CARE 69 



occurs throughout Illinois and grows on high banks of streams 

 where it tolerates the shade of oaks and other tall trees. It pre- 

 fers an acid soil, does not thrive in open, sunny places, and is 

 difficult to transplant. 



The smooth, thin, firm, alternate, elmlike leaves (Fig. 65 

 inset) are 3-5 inches long and li-i-2 inches wide with finely 

 double-toothed margins. Male and female flowers are borne 

 separately on the same tree. The 2-inch-long male flowers form 

 as clusters of reddish-brown catkins from lateral buds near the 

 end of the previous year's twig growth. The pale green, V:i- to 

 %-inch-long female flowers form as erect spikes or short catkins 

 at the tip of the new growth. The long-stalked, pendulous, hop- 

 like fruit is made up of a number of bladdery sacs with hairs at 

 the base of the papery scale. Each sac encloses a chestnut-brown, 

 pointed, flattened nutlet. The gray to brown, shredded bark 

 appears as narrow, scaly plates which are loose and curled at 

 the free end. 



Hop hornbeam is relatively free of destructive diseases and 

 insect pests. The hard, close-grained wood is not durable in the 

 soil. However, because of its strong and tough characteristics it 

 is used for mallets and handles of various tools. 



Hornbeam 



Hornbeam or blue beech (Carpinus caroliniana) (Fig. 66) 

 is a small, slow-growing, bushy tree, with slender, slightly zig- 

 zag, spreading, droop-tipped branches, that reaches a height of 

 35 feet with a branch spread of 15-20 feet. It thrives in partial 

 shade along streams as an understory tree and is used occasion- 

 ally in ornamental plantings. 



The alternate, thin, long-pointed leaves (Fig. 66 inset), 

 with double- toothed margins, are green and smooth above, and 

 light yellow and smooth to finely hairy beneath. They are 2-4 

 inches long and 1^2-2 inches wide. The male and female flowers 

 form as separate catkins on the same tree after the leaves ap- 

 pear. The 1- to 2-inch-long male catkins have egg-shaped, pointed 

 scales which are green below the middle and red above. The i o- 

 to %-inch-long, erect, female catkins have hairy, leaflike, green 

 scales. The fruit is a nutlet borne at the base of a three-lobed, 

 leaflike structure. Several of these structures are arranged 

 spirally in a conelike cluster. The smooth, gray bark is occas- 

 ionally marked with brownish horizontal bands. 



No destructive diseases have been reported affecting horn- 



