The Society of Municipal Arborists has selected the American hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) as 2019's Urban Tree of the Year.
According to Nina Bassuk, Director of Cornell's Urban Horticulture Institute, the plant goes by many names -- American or Eastern hophornbeam, ironwood, hornbeam, leverwood -- "a poster child for why common names can be a problem!" It's a medium-sized tree in the birch family, about 30 feet tall at maturity, with a native range east of the Rockies from Manitoba, Canada to Florida.
Ostrya is an understory tree and has thin, stringy, distinctive bark and hop-like flowers that are most numerous when the tree is planted in full sun. It's also pest free and tolerates a wide range of pH in soils.
Eric Wiseman, Associate Professor of Urban Forestry at Virginia Tech, says Ostrya "may not be as flashy as its white-barked cousins. But for those familiar with this denizen of temperate deciduous forests in eastern North America, the beauty of the species lies in the subtlety of its ragged grayish-brown bark and the intricacy of the papery composite fruit resembling the hops that flavor our favorite adult beverages."
The experts say this tree does well in narrow tree lawns, sidewalk cutouts, and parking lot buffers throughout much of the United States and southern Canada. It's hardy in zones 3 through 9-A and with adequate drainage, it tolerates poor soils. Because of its strong wood, it requires minimal pruning and it does well in storms and in urban environments. At Virginia Tech, hophornbeam was chosen for an outdoor dining area on the south side of the student center where space was at a premium, but shade was necessary for dining comfort.
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