Oriental Hornbeam

Description

Carpinus orientalis, known as the Oriental hornbeam, is a hornbeam native to Hungary, the Balkans, Italy, Crimea, Turkey, Iran, and the Caucasus. and occurs usually on hot dry sites at lower altitudes in comparison to the Carpinus betulus (European Hornbeam). The Carpinus orientalis is a small tree, rarely over 10 m tall and often shrubby. It has minute, with small leaves, 3–5 cm long. The seeds have a simple bract, not trilobed like Carpinus betulus, that is about 2 cm long. In recent years, this species has been extensively used as an ornamental tree for bonsai.