UFO — Unidentified Forest Hornbeam

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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Initially I thought bark looked like Ostrya virginiana. But last couple photos look more like Vaccinium species. V. corymbosa or V. darrowii or maybe one of the rabbit eye blueberries. Those fat round buds look like blueberry flower buds. Get back to that area right when crab apples start to bloom, if they are blueberry, you will see flowers, cup or urn shape white flowers, with the opening facing the ground.
 

cbroad

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I see it all the time here too but don't know what it is.

Reminds me of vaccinium or itea.

I tried va techs i.d. and kept getting vaccinium arboreum or other related species. Tried using bud and leaf keys...
 

BobbyLane

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Here's the trunk base of a larger specimen.

View attachment 349316
its not hornbeam. hornbeams are smooth barked.
you could google image hornbeams american or european and compare to the buds you are looking at. they arent the same.

does the american hornbeam hold onto brown leaves like the the european one? if they do, thats a dead givaway as you would find lots of brown leaves around the tree. for future ref
 
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Gabler

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I agree. Definitely not Carpinus caroliniana. But it seemed like it could be closely related based on the growth habit and bud structure. Blueberry seems to fit the description.
 

HorseloverFat

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OL is thinking blueberry...

I believe he has observed several in his lifetime.

🤓

Cool specimens...I’d probably dig every one... but I’m a little Ned Flanders-y with wild collection.
 

Gabler

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OL is thinking blueberry...

I believe he has observed several in his lifetime.

🤓

Cool specimens...I’d probably dig every one... but I’m a little Ned Flanders-y with wild collection.

I did take a large number of cuttings, but it's on public land, so I don't want to do anything invasive.
 

HorseloverFat

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I did take a large number of cuttings, but it's on public land, so I don't want to do anything invasive.
Ooooooh! I missed the “public land” part.. I gotcha, entirely.

🤓

It’s funny.. cause In my head.. I was all, “This guy has WICKED yard access” 😂

You also live in one of the prettiest, neatest coastal areas I have ever been, by the way. (Sorry If I’ve already said that)
 

Gabler

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Ooooooh! I missed the “public land” part.. I gotcha, entirely.

🤓

It’s funny.. cause In my head.. I was all, “This guy has WICKED yard access” 😂

You also live in one of the prettiest, neatest coastal areas I have ever been, by the way. (Sorry If I’ve already said that)

I do have good yard access. About 200 acres of forest, but this just so happens to be on the C&D Canal levee. Probably no one would even notice a few missing, but since I have another collection source for wild trees that's 100% legal, I see no reason to trespass against public land by exceeding my right to access the hiking trails.
 

HorseloverFat

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I do have good yard access. About 200 acres of forest, but this just so happens to be on the C&D Canal levee. Probably no one would even notice a few missing, but since I have another collection source for wild trees that's 100% legal, I see no reason to trespass against public land by exceeding my right to access the hiking trails.
Absolutely!
 
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