Ostrya is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of eight to ten small
deciduousDeciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s belonging to the birch family
BetulaceaeBetulaceae, or the Birch Family, includes six genera of deciduous nut-bearing trees and shrubs, including the birches, alders, hazels, hornbeams and hop-hornbeams, numbering about 130 species...
. Its common name is
Hophornbeam in American English and
Hop-hornbeam in British English. It may also be called
ironwood-Plants:Any particular wood that has a reputation for hardness. Usage of the name may include the tree that yields this wood. Species involved include:* Acacia estrophiolata, Southern ironwood* Androstachys johnsonii, Lebombo ironwood...
, a name shared with a number of other plants.
The genus is native in southern
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, southwest and eastern
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
, and
NorthNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
and
Central AmericaManagua
Guatemala City
San Salvador
San Pedro Sula
Panama City
San José, Costa Rica
Santa Ana, El Salvador
León
San Miguel|-|}...
. They have a conical or irregular crown and a scaly, rough bark. They have alternate and double-toothed
birchBirch is the name of any tree of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae.-Description:...
-like
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
3-10 cm long. The
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
s are produced in spring, with male catkins 5-10 cm long and female catkins 2-5 cm long. The
fruitThe term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds, and the presence of seeds indicates that a structure is most likely a fruit, though not all seeds come from...
form in pendulous clusters 3-8 cm long with 6-20
seedA seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s; each seed is a small
nutNut is a general term for the large, dry, oily seeds or fruit of some plants. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts. Nuts are an important source of nutrients for both humans and...
2-4 mm long, fully enclosed in a bladder-like
involucreInvolucre may refer to* the cupule surrounding developing nuts in the Betulaceae;* involucral bract, a bract or whorl of bracts surrounding a flower or inflorescence....
.
The
woodWood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees . In a living tree it transfers water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves...
is very hard and heavy; the name
Ostrya is derived from the Greek word 'ostrua', "
boneBones are rigid organs that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
-like", referring to the very hard wood. Regarded as a weed tree by some foresters, this hard and stable wood was historically used to fashion
planeA plane is a tool for shaping wood. Planes are used to flatten, reduce the thickness of, and impart a smooth surface to a rough piece of lumber or timber. Planing is used to produce horizontal, vertical, or inclined flat surfaces on workpieces usually too large for shaping...
soles.
Ostrya species are used as food plants by the
larvaA larva is a young form of animal with indirect development, going through or undergoing metamorphosis ....
e of some
LepidopteraLepidoptera is an order of insects that includes moths and butterflies. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species including
Winter MothThe Winter Moth is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is an abundant species of Europe and the Near East and one of very few Lepidoptera of temperate regions in which the adults are active in the depth of winter....
(
Operophtera brumata), Walnut Sphinx (
Amorpha juglandis) and
Coleophora ostryae.
Species
- Ostrya carpinifolia Scop. - European Hop-hornbeam
- Ostrya chisosensis Correll - Chisos Hophornbeam, Big Bend Hophornbeam
- Ostrya guatemalensis (Winkler) Rose - Central American Hophornbeam
- Ostrya japonica
Ostrya japonica is a species of tree in the Betulaceae family growing to 25 m tall. It is native to Japan, Korea and China.-Sources:* Ohwi, J. Flora of Japan, 1984. ISBN 978-0874747089...
Sarg. - Japanese Hop-hornbeam
- Ostrya knowltonii Coville - Knowlton Hophornbeam, Western Hophornbeam, Wolf Hophornbeam
- Ostrya multinervis Rehd. - Central Chinese Hop-hornbeam
- Ostrya rehderiana
Ostrya rehderiana is a species of plant in the Betulaceae family. It is endemic to China.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
Chun - Zhejiang Hop-hornbeam
- Ostrya virginiana
Ostrya virginiana , is a species of Ostrya native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Manitoba and eastern Wyoming, southeast to northern Florida and southwest to eastern Texas and northeastern Mexico...
(Mill.) K. Koch - Eastern Hophornbeam, American Hophornbeam, Ironwood.
- Ostrya yunnanensis Hu - Yunnan Hop-hornbeam
- † Ostrya oregoniana (fossil)