Musclewood | Carpinus caroliniana
This slow-growing, long-lived plant has about ten thousand synonyms but Musclewood refers to its smooth, muscular-looking bark. Other common names are: Blue Beech (bluish-greyish bark color), American Hornbeam, and Ironwood (dense wood, hard like Iron. Every other plant in the Betulacea family is seemingly called Ironwood too). Musclewood prefers moist, well-drained soils in the shadier parts. It has attractive orange fall foliage and winged seed capsules. Its native range is nearly all of the territory East of the Mighty Mississippi with, interestingly, disjunct populations in Southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Sun: Partial Shade-Shade
Region of Origin: Eastern USA
Container Size: 3 gal
This slow-growing, long-lived plant has about ten thousand synonyms but Musclewood refers to its smooth, muscular-looking bark. Other common names are: Blue Beech (bluish-greyish bark color), American Hornbeam, and Ironwood (dense wood, hard like Iron. Every other plant in the Betulacea family is seemingly called Ironwood too). Musclewood prefers moist, well-drained soils in the shadier parts. It has attractive orange fall foliage and winged seed capsules. Its native range is nearly all of the territory East of the Mighty Mississippi with, interestingly, disjunct populations in Southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Sun: Partial Shade-Shade
Region of Origin: Eastern USA
Container Size: 3 gal
This slow-growing, long-lived plant has about ten thousand synonyms but Musclewood refers to its smooth, muscular-looking bark. Other common names are: Blue Beech (bluish-greyish bark color), American Hornbeam, and Ironwood (dense wood, hard like Iron. Every other plant in the Betulacea family is seemingly called Ironwood too). Musclewood prefers moist, well-drained soils in the shadier parts. It has attractive orange fall foliage and winged seed capsules. Its native range is nearly all of the territory East of the Mighty Mississippi with, interestingly, disjunct populations in Southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Sun: Partial Shade-Shade
Region of Origin: Eastern USA
Container Size: 3 gal
