beech vs hornbeam

[esteve59]

I have been collecting some American Hornbeam and American Beech trees for the past few years here in Maryland.
I had some confusion about distinguising one from the other.So here is my conclusion and if you can add anything please do.
American Beech - Fagus grandifolia
Carpinus caroliniana (American hornbeam)
View attachment 28599View attachment 28600
The pic of multiple trees has the Beech in the foreground,,,,they hold their leaves most of the winter and have a lighter grey bark.The Hornbeam in in the background.
The buds are easy to distinguish as shown in the other pictures with the beech being larger and swollen.
The leaves are very similar except the Beech are larger.

 

[NewWorldBonsai]

It's just a matter of working with them more, you'll get the hang of it.

Eventually, you'll be able to tell by the bark alone.

Fagus buds are a lot longer and they have that smooth almost glossy bark on young limbs. Also Fagus is a lot more flexible.

 

[jk_lewis]

American beech are harder to work with. They generally have just one flush of growth in the spring. Pruning later in the "growing season" results in few or no new buds until the next spring. Overall growth is slower, too -- though new branches put on in the spring can be quite long. Pruning scars and trunk chop scars last forever. Think of ancient beech in the forest with initials carved in them that are still legible after 100 years.

The hornbeam, on the other hand, buds readily after pruning. It is much easier, therefore, to develop ramification on a hornbeam. Because of its smooth bark (much like the beech's) scars take longer to heal on them than on many other deciduous trees, but at least they DO heal. Since hornbeam are understory trees, they prefer partial sun, while beech like full sun.

For the American bonsaiest, the hornbeam is the better choice for bonsai (IMO, of course).

And don't forget the hophornbeam, Ostreya virginiana.

 

[lordy]

On many, if not all, of the beech I have collected, they seem to sprout from roots of larger trees nearby. Difficulty in collecting enough roots is normal in these cases as the sapling gets it's food and water from the parent tree. It can be tough to develop good rootage that way too.

 

[Cypress]

On many, if not all, of the beech I have collected, they seem to sprout from roots of larger trees nearby. Difficulty in collecting enough roots is normal in these cases as the sapling gets it's food and water from the parent tree. It can be tough to develop good rootage that way too.

The reason you see beech sprouting from the roots of parent trees is because of Beech Bark disease. A beech tree in the US will almost certainly die before it can become full grown. This is due to a complicated interaction of a scale insect that feeds on the trees and ultimately helps a fungus infect the tree. But Beech are root sprouters anyway, a very great adaption for survival, so when the parent tree dies, it's still living roots send tons of new trees up. This is actually a huge problem for forest health right now. The new trees form dense thickets and crowd out other tree species from growing. So, though Beech is a native tree it's almost acting like an invasive tree because they're all dying then rising from the dead with a vengeance. Then the whole process repeats itself!

 

[discusmike]

Here is one I collected a couple seasons ago, I did a complete chop above a small branch, it pushed new growth everywhere from the chop, I found some nice hornbeams near a stream I'm gonna collect soon, did not know they gre this far north.

 

[discusmike]

Sorry about the pic

 

[discusmike]

Hopefully this worked

 

[mrcasey]

Fluted Trunk

The clue jumping out at me is the fluted muscular looking trunk of Carpinus caroliniana.
The look is so distinctive that many folks where I collect actually call them musclewood. Fagus grandifolia, while having that same smooth bark, does not have that fluted trunk. The difference isn't as obvious on very young hornbeams.

 

[discusmike]

I second that, but juvenile trees, like the ones he collected don't have that fluted appearance yet.

 

[Martin Sweeney]

All,

In my experience, hornbeam and beech tend to grow in slightly different micro environments in the same general areas. Someone mentioned that beech are canopy trees, the dominant tree where they grow, and hornbeam are understory trees. As neither is a colonizer, look for them in stable established areas of forests. Additionally, I have found that in the general Charlotte, NC. area, hornbeam tend to grow in wetter areas than beech. So, if I am looking for hornbeam, I seek a streambed, and move slightly uphill. If I encounter a beech grove on the way to a streambed, I continue to move downhill as it has been my observation that beech like a slightly drier piece of ground.

As I collect in the fall, in terms of identification, autumn foliage retention seems to be the best tool, beech leaves in fall tend to russet/tan and are typically retained through new bud break in spring, while hornbeam tend to a washed out russet/brown and are usually totally fallen from the tree by late fall to mid-winter. The trunk colors are also good indicators as beech tend to greyish white, while hornbeam are more of a steel grey. If present, fluting as previously mentioned, is another identifier and indicative of American hornbeam. As JKL mentioned, Ostrya virginiana is extremely similar to Carpinus caroliniana, but does not exhibit the fluted, muscly trunk. I too remember musclewood as the common name of American hornbeam growing up in Connecticut. Ironwood as well.

That said the buds are to me the clearest differentiator. Beech buds are substantially more substantial, much longer and spear shaped, often held on the end of branchlets. Hornbeam buds are barely visible and hardly noticeable.

I have found that beech tend to heal wounds faster than hornbeam, but that the closed scar on a beech will be dark, almost black, for almost forever, as mentioned by JKL.

Regards,
Martin

 

[benw3790]

The way Ive been taught to distinguish the two is two ways: hornbeams are very muscular, you can really see the ripples and bulging !muscles in the trunk of the tree. And for beeches, I simply just look at the buds. Very long and pointy like a sword. Those are the easiest way to identify them for me, personally.