Hop beech
| Hop beech | ||||||||||||
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European hop beech ( Ostrya carpinifolia ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ostrya | ||||||||||||
| Scop. |
The hop beeches ( Ostrya ) are a genus of plants from the birch family (Betulaceae). The genus includes eight to ten species, including one native to Europe. They are deciduous trees and shrubs . The hop beeches are similar to the hornbeams ( Carpinus ); different are the male kittens, which are naked during winter, and the fruits enclosed by a bubble-like cover.
description
The hop beeches are deciduous trees and shrubs . The buds are egg-shaped with many overlapping scales. The leaves are irregular and double serrated.
The male inflorescences are pendulous catkins that are bare in winter . They are formed in several together at the tips of the branches in autumn and bloom in the following spring; they look very similar to those of hazelnuts . The male flowers consist of only three to fourteen stamens; as is often the case with wind-pollinated taxa, there are no bracts. The female, grape-shaped inflorescences are individually terminal on the branches. They look similar to those of hops , which is what led to the name “Hopfenbuchen”. The female flowers have bracts. The small fruits (nuts) are often winged (the wings are the sepals ).
The wood is very hard. It used to be used to make hand planes. The hop beech is also called ironwood in the English-speaking world . However, this also applies to some other tree species.
distribution
The hop beech genus is widespread in the temperate northern hemisphere. The only species native to Europe is the European hop beech ( Ostrya carpinifolia ), which is native to southern Europe and Asia Minor. Three species are native to North and Central America, all other species in East Asia with a focus on China.
Systematics
The genus was the Italian botanist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in its flora Carniolica, page 414 1760 first described . Eight to ten species belong to the genus Ostrya .
Scientific name German name distribution Synonyms Ostrya carpinifolia Scop. European hop beech Southern Europe, Western Asia Ostrya chinensis I.M. Turner China Ostrya multinervis Rehder Ostrya guatemalensis (HJPWinkl.) Rose Central America Ostrya virginiana subsp. guatemalensis (HJPWinkl.) AEMurray Ostrya japonica coffin. Japanese hop beech Japan, Korea and China Ostrya knowltonii Coville American hop beech North America Ostrya chisosensis Correll Ostrya rehderiana Chun China Ostrya trichocarpa D. Fang & YS Wang China Ostrya virginiana (Mill.) K. Koch Virginian hop beech North and Central America Carpinus virginiana Mill. Ostrya yunnanensis Hu ex PC Li China
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Ostrya. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved July 18, 2018.
Web links
- Entry at GRIN Taxonomy for Plants (Engl.)
- Entry at Flora of China (engl.)
- Entry in Flora of North America (English).
- Entry at Flora Europaea (English)