Carpinus caroliniana

Family / Families: Betulaceae
Scientific Name(s): Carpinus caroliniana Walter
Institution(s): Carolinian Forest, University of British Columbia Botanical Garden
Accession Number(s): 2006-0302
Location(s): Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Entry Author(s): Daniel Mosquin
Copyright Holder(s): Daniel Mosquin
Image License: Creative Commons License
Tags: Betulaceae, Fagales, Photo by Daniel, UBC Botanical Garden

The autumn foliage of Carpinus caroliniana

The peak of the delightful chaos of autumn foliage is a week or two away here at UBC Botanical Garden. Maybe this peek from a previous year will pique your interest and entice you to visit the Garden during Apple Fest?

Unfortunately, I am going to miss the height of it this year due to travel. My destination of central Mexico seems like it will have a wealth of flowers (the late summer rainy season there has made verdant landscapes), so I’ll be gathering more than a few photos for BPotD from an underrepresented (on BPotD) part of the world. I’ll also be photographing in gardens both public and private, so if all goes well, I should be able to feature more tropical / warm temperate plants soon.

I do regret not being able to spend some time with fall-foliage plants like Carpinus caroliniana, or the American hornbeam. The species has been one of the many horticultural surprises in our Carolinian Forest Garden. A number of the species in this section of the garden are not common in cultivation in western Canada (or even western North America), so the Garden is in part an evaluation tool for horticulturists and local gardeners to determine if our horticultural options can be expanded.

Also known as blue beech and musclewood, Carpinus caroliniana is native to eastern North America from southern Ontario into southern Mexico (it is known here as lechillo). These small trees grow to about 12m (40 ft.) high, centred by a sinewy, fluted stem with blue-grey bark (hence the additional English common names).