Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus): what the forestry bodies record

This page reports what forestry bodies say about one tree. It does not identify trees from descriptions or photos and does not say what should be done with any tree. Each fact names its source, all read on October 9, 2026. The agency records for the tree it is often confused with in Britain are on the common beech page.

At a glance

Item	What the source records
Scientific name and family	Carpinus betulus, family Betulaceae (Woodland Trust)
Common names	Hornbeam, common hornbeam and European hornbeam (Woodland Trust); Forest Research files it as Hornbeam with the code HBM
Origin	Native to south-east England, planted more widely; a Principal tree species (Forest Research)
Height and age	Forest Research says it rarely exceeds 25 m. The Woodland Trust says mature trees can reach 30 m and live for more than 300 years.
Rainfall, exposure, shade	More than 600 mm of rain preferred; not tolerant of exposure; shade tolerant (Forest Research key properties)

Range

Forest Research says hornbeam occurs naturally from the Pyrenees to southern Sweden and eastwards to Iran. In Britain it is native but confined to south-east England, and planted through the southern half of England and in parts of Wales, north England and south Scotland. EUFORGEN, the European forest genetic resources programme, gives the range as Europe, western Asia and parts of North Africa, in mixed deciduous forests, woodlands and urban areas, with a tolerance to pollution. Forest Research says outside coppice plantations hornbeam is found in mixed broadleaved forests with oaks, and that pure stands are rare and likely the result of human intervention.

Site and soil

Forest Research describes a temperate species that likes moist soils: best growth on fresh to moist soils of moderate nutrient status such as damp clays, clay with flints and acid brown earths, and on alkaline soils that are neither too shallow nor too dry. It does not tolerate peaty soils or soils of very poor nutrient status. The entry calls it comparatively slow growing, shade tolerant, very cold hardy and frost resistant, adapted to the more continental climates of eastern and lowland Britain, and a suitable alternative to beech on wet soils or those prone to waterlogging. EUFORGEN says it copes with many soil conditions and is often found under the canopy of mixed oak stands.

Leaves, bark and seed

The Woodland Trust describes pale grey bark with vertical markings and sometimes a short, twisted trunk with ridges with age. Leaves are oval with pointed tips, smaller and more deeply furrowed than beech leaves, with finely toothed edges where beech has wavy edges. They turn golden yellow to orange in autumn and most stay on through winter. The fruit is a small nut 3 to 6 mm long in a leafy three-lobed bract, hanging in tiered clusters. Forest Research describes a naturally fluted and twisted tree with coarse branch structure from the base upwards.

Coppice, wood and wildlife

Forest Research says hornbeam was widely grown in the London basin to supply the capital's firewood in the Middle Ages and is the most extensive traditional coppice species after hazel and sweet chestnut, cut on rotations of 20 to 35 years. It calls the wood dense, hard, difficult to chop and little used in milling or carpentry because it quickly blunts tools. EUFORGEN says the wood is dense and fine grained with a high calorific value, used for firewood, charcoal and tool handles, and that the tree is common in landscaping, hedgerows, topiary and coppiced understories. The Woodland Trust says a hornbeam hedge keeps its leaves all year, giving shelter and nesting to birds and small mammals, that caterpillars of moths such as the nut tree tussock feed on it, and that finches, tits and small mammals eat the seed.

Pests and diseases the sources name

Forest Research says hornbeam may occasionally suffer dieback as a result of root infection by Phytophthora, and is vulnerable to squirrel damage and browsing mammals. The entry names no other pest or disease. This site profiles Phytophthora root rots from extension and Forest Research sources.

Text on Forest Research is adapted from its tree species database entry and contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.