282 TREES OF MINNESOTA. 
Genus OSTRYA. 
Flowers monoecious, apetalous; the staminate naked in long 
pendulous catkins; the pistillate in erect loose catkins; ovary 
two-celled, inferior, surrounded by small deciduous bracts and 
each inclosed in a sac-like involucre which grows and forms a 
sort of cluster, like that of the common hop. Leaves alternate. 
Only one species comes within our range. 
Ostrya virginiana. Hornbeam. Ironwood. Hop Horn- 
beam. 
Leaves oblong-lanceolate, taper-pointed, very sharply and 
doubly serrate, green above and downy beneath. Flowers 
minute, appearing with the leaves. Seed in short imbricated 
catkin-like clusters, ripe in August but hanging on into late 
autumn; nut one-fourth to one-third of an inch long. Bark 
on old trees dark brown and furrowed, not smooth as in Car- 
pinus. A handsome tree, generally small, but occasionally a 
foot or more in diameter. 
Distribution—From Cape Breton to northern Minnesota and 
Black Hills of Dakota and south to northern Florida and east- 
ern Texas. In Minnesota common throughout the timbered 
portions of the state except close to the shore of Lake Superior. 
Propugation.—-Generally grown from seeds, but may be grown 
from layers or graits. 
Propertics of wood.—Heavy, very strong, hard and tough, ex- 
ceedingly close grained, durable in contact with the soil and 
susceptible of a fine polish. It is ight brown tinged with red, 
or oiter nearly white with thick pale sapwood. Specific gravity 
0.8284; weight of a cubic foot 51.62 pounds. 
Uses. —The Hornbeam is a very beautiful, hardy tree, and is 
occasionally used for ornamental purposes, for umbrella sticks 
and canes, but on account of its rather slow growth it is not 
generally desirable for this purpose. The wood is used for 
fence posts, levers, mallets, handles of tools, and medicinally in 
homeopathic practice. 
