60 Bulletin of the Umversity of Texas 
shreddy on trunk and older branches, green and hairy on 
young twigs. Leaves ovate to lanceolate, acute at the apex, 
rounded, wedge-shaped, or heart-shaped at base, sharply, 
doubly serrate, 214’-4’ long, thin and tough. Flowers borne 
in catkins in early spring. Fruit hop-like, 2 to 3 times as 
long as wide, consisting of bladder-like bracts which enclose 
the nuts. 
Valley of the St. Lawrence, south to Florida and west to 
Texas, Ontario, Minnesota, South Dakota and Kansas. It is 
found principally in dry soil in thick woods. 
The wood is very hard, tough, close grained. It is used for 
fuel, fenee posts, tool handles, and mallets. The small size 
of the tree makes it of little economic importance. It is some- 
times planted for ornement. 
2. CARPINUS L. 
1. Carpinus Caroliniana Walt. American Hornbeam. Wa- 
ter Beech. Blue Beech. Small trees with fluted or ridged 
trunk rarely 40° high with diameter of 2°. Bark smooth, 
close, gray on older parts, hairy and green on young twigs. 
Leaves ovate to oblong, pointed, doubly serrate, somewhat 
unequal-sided, hairy when young, smoother with age, dull 
bluish green above, yellowish beneath. Flowers borne in eat- 
kins in early spring. The nut is 14’ long, ovoid, flattened and 
ribbed. The seales are leaf-like, three-lobed, the lateral lobes 
much shorter than the terminal. 
Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Ontario, Minnesota, Kansas, 
and Texas. It occurs in moist woodlands, and along streams, 
but may also be found in dry woodlands. It grows principally 
in the shade of larger forest trees. 
The wood is heavy, hard, tough, but the small size of the 
tree and the crookedness of the stem renders it of no economic 
importance for timber. It is sometimes planted for ornament. 
BETULACEAE (Tournefort) L. Birch Family. 
Monoecious, aromatic trees or shrubs with simple, alternate, 
straight veined, usually serrate leaves. Flowers borne in eat- 
kins, opening in the early spring usually before the leaves. 
