Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Ostrya virginiana
Introductory
SPECIES: Ostrya virginiana
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Coladonato, Milo 1992. Ostrya virginiana. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/ostvir/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
OSTVIR
SYNONYMS :
Ostrya virginiana var. laisa Fern.
Ostrya virginiana var. virginiana [39,44]
NRCS PLANT CODE :
OSVI
COMMON NAMES :
hophornbeam
American hophornbeam
eastern hophornbeam
ironwood
TAXONOMY :
The scientific name of hophornbeam is Ostrya virginiana (Mill.) K. Koch [21].
LIFE FORM :
Tree
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Ostrya virginiana
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Hophornbeam is found from Prince Edward's Island to Nova Scotia
west through Ontario and Manitoba, and south to the Black Hills of South
Dakota. Its range includes all eastern states to northern Florida and
eastern Texas. It also extends to the highlands of southern Mexico, and
south to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras [6,27,42,44].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES10 White - red - jack pine
FRES11 Spruce - fir
FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
FRES14 Oak - pine
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress
FRES17 Elm - ash - cottonwood
FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
FRES19 Aspen - birch
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
STATES :
AL AR CT DE FL GA IL IN IA KS
KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO NE
NH NJ NY NC ND OH OK PA RI SC
SD TN TX VT VA WV WI MB NB NS
ON PE PQ MEXICO
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
NO-ENTRY
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K017 Black Hills pine forest
K082 Mosaic of K074 and K100
K089 Black Belt
K093 Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
K095 Great Lakes pine forest
K096 Northeastern spruce - fir forest
K099 Maple - basswood forest
K100 Oak - hickory forest
K101 Elm - ash forest
K102 Beech - maple forest
K103 Mixed mesophytic forest
K104 Appalachian oak forest
K106 Northern hardwoods
K107 Northern hardwoods - fir forest
K108 Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
K113 Southern floodplain forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
16 Aspen
20 White pine - northern red oak - red maple
24 Hemlock - yellow birch
25 Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
26 Sugar maple - basswood
27 Sugar maple
28 Black cherry - maple
33 Red spruce - balsam fir
42 Bur oak
52 White oak - black oak - northern red oak
55 Northern red oak
60 Beech - sugar maple
80 Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
82 Loblolly pine - hardwood
87 Sweet gum - yellow-poplar
91 Swamp chestnut oak - cherrybark oak
110 Black oak
237 Interior ponderosa pine
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Hophornbeam most commonly occurs as a subordinate species in
maple(Acer spp.)-beech (Fagus spp.) and maple-basswood (Tilia spp.)
communities. It is not an indicator of any particular habitat type
[5,11,37].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Ostrya virginiana
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
The wood of hophornbeam is strong, hard, heavy, and takes a fine
polish. It is not harvested for timber because of its relatively small
size and scattered distribution. The wood is used for posts, golf club
handles, tool handles, mallets, and woodenware [18,44].
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Throughout its range, hophornbeam is browsed by white-tailed
deer only incidentally. White-tailed deer usually browse more desirable
species when available [23,33].
Buds and catkins of hophornbeam are important winter food for
ruffed grouse, and the nuts are a secondary food in the fall. The nuts
are also a preferred food for sharp-tailed grouse and wild turkey, and
is eaten to a lesser extent by northern bobwhite, red and gray
squirrels, cottontails, ring-necked pheasant, purple finch, rosebreasted
grosbeak, and downy woodpecker [23,34].
PALATABILITY :
Hophornbeam browse is rated low in palatability to white-tailed
deer [13,16].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
The calcium content of the foliage of hophornbeam is considered
high. Concentrations frequently exceed 2 percent on the basis of
ovendry leaf weight. Nitrogen concentrations range from moderate to
high but concentrations of phosphorus and potassium are usually low [23].
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Hophornbeam exhibits fast juvenile growth, indicating its
potential to provide vegetative cover in areas that have been disturbed
by overstory cutting. Great increases in hophornbeam have
occurred after northern hardwood stands less than 40 years old were
clearcut [23].
Propagation: The seed may be sown in either fall or spring. Seed can
be planted immediately in the fall in mulched beds using straw or
leaves. For spring sowing the seed may be stratified over winter in
sand or peat at 41 degrees Fahrenheit (5.6 deg C). Seeds are usually
planted 0.25 inch (0.6 cm) deep in well-drained loamy soil. Expected
germination is 85 to 90 percent [44].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Eastern hophornbean has been cultivated as an ornamental in the eastern
United States [44].
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Hophornbeam is considered a weed species throughout most of its
range. It is usually discriminated against in stands managed for
timber. Silviculturally, more interest has been given to eradicating
it. Tordon 101 and 2,4,5,T, applied by mist blowing, have been
successful in killing hophornbeam [23,24].
Damaging agents: Hophornbeam is relatively free of insect and
other disease problems. The species is not readily injured by cold
temperatures until temperatures drop below 17 degrees Fahrenheit (8 deg
C). It is sensitive to air pollutants. In the upper Ohio River valley
it does not grow in areas with moderate levels of the oxides of sulfur,
nitrogen, chlorine, and fluorine. The tough branches resist wind, snow,
and ice damage [6,23].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Ostrya virginiana
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Hophornbeam is a small, slow-growing, shapely tree usually not
more than 35 feet (11 m) tall and 12 inches (30 cm) in d.b.h.
[8,10,17]. The tree develops a broad top (sometimes as much as 50 feet
[15 m] across) of small, spreading branches [6,14]. The leaves are
alternate with slender hairy stems. The twigs are tipped with slender,
cylindrical buds. The pistillate flowers are in slender catkins. The
hoplike fruit is 1 to 2 inches (2.5-5 cm) long and borne on short,
slender stems. The thin, gray bark forms narrow, platelike scales
[34,36,44].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Phanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Seed production and dissemination: Hophornbeam can easily be
propagated from seed [19,32]. The hoplike stobile begins to break up
immediately after ripening, and the lightweight seeds are dispersed by
wind and birds throughout the fall and early winter. Trees begin to
produce fruit at age 25 [23,26,34].
Seedling development: Seeds usually germinate in the spring the year
after they are shed. Germination is epigeal. Seeds require
stratification to overcome a form of internal dormancy. Germination
capacity is 27 to 65 percent [23].
Vegetative reproduction: Cut, burned, or injured trees commonly sprout
from the stump. The proportion of stump sprouting increases with stump
height [23,40].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Hophornbeam grows on a wide variety of sites but is most common
on dry-mesic and mesic valley bottoms and lower slopes. Best
development occurs on loamy soils in ravines, on lower slopes, and on
well-drained floodplains of major rivers. The lowest slope that it
occupies is determined by its intolerance to flooding [25,29,31]. Soil
pH ranges from 4.2 to 7.6 in the northern half of its range and 4.6 to
5.6 in the southern half . Elevation ranges from 250 to 750 feet
(75-230 m) in Quebec to 5,000 feet (1,520 m) in the southern
Appalachians, but the species is most common at elevations ranging from
2,800 to 3,200 feet (850-980 m) [2,23,41].
Common tree associates include American elm (Ulmus americana), blackgum
(Nyssa sylvatica), sassafras (Sassafras albidium), flowering dogwood
(Cornus florida), hickories (Carya spp.), American holly (Ilex opaca),
and American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana). Shrub associates include
mountain maple (Acer spicatum), roundleaf dogwood (Cornus rugosa), witch
hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), American elder (Sambucus canadensis),
American yew (Taxus canadensis), hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium),
beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), southern bayberry (Myrica cerifera),
and greenbriers (Smilax spp.) [33,38,45].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Obligate Climax Species
Hophornbeam typically grows in climax forests in the northern
parts of its range. It is classed as tolerant and will reproduce well
under full shade. It is ranked high as a species climax potential
[3,23]. In the Southeast, hophornbeam is associated with a
later seral stage that follows the pioneer pine communities. It first
appears in Peidmont pine stands after about 90 years and in the
bottomland hardwoods after about 36 years [1,15,23].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
In the North, flowering occurs from mid-May to mid-June, and in the
South from late March to mid-April. The fruits ripen by the end of
August in the North and as late as October in the South [23,34].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Ostrya virginiana
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
After aboveground portions are killed by fire, hophornbeam can
reestablish by sprouting from the root crowm [40].
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Tree with adventitious-bud root crown/root sucker
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Ostrya virginiana
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Hophornbeam can be killed by severe fires. Areas burned
severely enough to kill most of the overstory in oak (Quercus spp.)
stands in Rhode Island contained no hophornbeam 50 years later
[4].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Hophornbeam will sprout from the stump following fire.
Following spring fires in New York, 62 percent of the top-killed stems
sprouted, and in Minnesota, 100 percent of the top-killed stems sprouted
[28,40].
The Research Paper by Bowles and others 2007 provides information on
postfire responses of several plant species, including hophornbeam,
that was not available when this species review was written.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Management practices that utilize periodic burning are highly effective
in controlling and eventually eliminating hophornbeam [7,35].
The initial incidence of fire in the Big Woods of Minnesota converted
the forest into a thicket of basswood and hophornbeam.
Subsequent fires converted them to a bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
savanna [23].
References: Ostrya virginiana
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2. Beals, Edward W.; Cope, James B. 1964. Vegetation and soils in an eastern Indiana woods. Ecology. 45(4): 777-792. [4009]
3. Beck, Donald E. 1988. Clearcutting and other regeneration options for upland hardwoods. In: Proceedings, 16th annual hardwood symposium of the Hardwood Research Council; 1988 May 15-18; Chashiers, NC. Vol. 16. [Place of publication unknown]. Hardwood Research Council: 44-54. [10903]
4. Brown, James H., Jr. 1960. The role of fire in altering the species composition of forests in Rhode Island. Ecology. 41(2): 310-316. [5935]
5. Coffman, Michael S.; Alyanak, Edward; Resovsky, Richard. 1980. Field guide habitat classification system: For Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northeast Wisconsin. Houghton, MI: School of Forestry and Wood Production, Michigan Technical University. 112 p. [8997]
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