Carpinus betulus L.

Carpinus betulus, the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family Betulaceae, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. It requires a warm climate for good growth, and occurs only at elevations up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). It grows in mixed stands with oak, and in some areas beech, and is also a common tree in scree forests. Hornbeam was also known as yoke elm. Together with Carpinus orientalis and Carpinus austrobalcanica, it is one of the three hornbeams found in Europe.

Source: Wikipedia

Synonyms 40

Carpinus carpinizza, Carpinus caucasica, Carpinus compressus, Carpinus intermedia, Carpinus nervata, Carpinus pendula, Carpinus quercifolia, Carpinus sepium, Carpinus ulmifolia, Carpinus ulmoides, Carpinus vulgaris, Carpinus betulus subsp. carpinizza, Carpinus betulus subsp. serrata, Carpinus betulus var. angustifolia, Carpinus betulus var. carpinizza, Carpinus betulus var. columnaris, Carpinus betulus var. edentula, Carpinus betulus var. fastigiata, Carpinus betulus var. incisa, Carpinus betulus var. obtusifolia, Carpinus betulus var. pendula, Carpinus betulus var. provincialis, Carpinus betulus var. quercifolia, Carpinus betulus var. serrata, Carpinus betulus f. albovariegata, Carpinus betulus f. aureovariegata, Carpinus betulus f. columnaris, Carpinus betulus f. cucullata, Carpinus betulus f. fastigiata, Carpinus betulus f. horizontalis, Carpinus betulus f. incisa, Carpinus betulus f. luteovariegata, Carpinus betulus f. obtusifolia, Carpinus betulus f. pendula, Carpinus betulus f. purpurea, Carpinus betulus f. pyramidalis, Carpinus betulus f. quercifolia, Carpinus betulus f. serrata, Carpinus betulus f. subacuta, Carpinus betulus f. variegata

747,194 GBIF occurrences
41,022 iNaturalist observations

Conservation status code

Conservation: status label

Least Concern

Conservation: population trend

Stable

Conservation: year assessed

2017

IUCN Red List page

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/194274/80567737

Habitats

Threats

IUCN: population narrative

As a result of this species being common across the majority of its range, there are no data available on the size of its population but we expect it to be large and stable.

IUCN: habitat narrative

A deciduous tree that occurs on lowlands, hills and low mountain ranges. It is very frost resistant however high summer temperatures restrict its distribution in Southern Europe. It prefers to grow in moist and well drained soil, and is tolerant of most soil types apart from acidic. As it is very shade tolerate it is able to be both an understorey tree and a coloniser of disturbed soils. It is found in broad-leaved deciduous forests (Quercus-Fagus) and rarely in mixed forests (Abies-Picea-Fagus). The species is resistant to bark damage when it is chewed by animals, even when the outer surface is completely removed the exposed cambium often heals over completely. It produces an abundance of seed, however regeneration is a slow process, as most seeds are taken by animals and birds, and seed germination may not happen until the spring of the second year after sowing (Sikkema et al. 2016).

IUCN: threats narrative

The generalist fungi from the genus Nectria has been found to cause cankers.The the genus Armillaria can cause root rot. This species has been reported to be a minor host of non-specialised invasive insects. It is susceptible to damage from the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) and can be a host for the processionary moth (Thaumetopoea processionea) (Sikkema et al. 2016). The beetle Anoplophora chinensis also causes declines in parts of its range in northern Italy.

IUCN: conservation narrative

This species is recorded in 198 ex situ collections (BGCI 2016), however they may or may not be from a European source. This species is listed as Vulnerable (D1+2) in the Red List of Spanish vascular flora, but it is thought to only be locally rare (Moreno 2008). This species is listed as Least Concern in Denmark (NERI, 2007, Wind and Pihl 2010), Luxembourg (Colling 2005), Switzerland (Moser et al, 2002) and Great Britain (Cheffings and Farrell 2005).

IUCN: rationale

European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)EU 28 regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)This species is a tree found across Europe. It is a common species across the majority of its large European range. Although there is no information on population numbers, there are no significant threats reported for this species or declines in population. It is therefore assessed as Least Concern.

Carpinus betulus L.

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