A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus Betula, in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus Betula contains 30 to 60 known taxa of which 11 are on the IUCN 2011 Red List of Threatened Species. They are typically short-lived pioneer species and are widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in northern areas of temperate climates and in boreal climates. Birch wood, the wood of the birch, is used for a wide range of purposes.
Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus Carpinus in the family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Hazels are plants of the genus Corylus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae. The fruit of the hazel is the hazelnut.
Ironwood is a common name for many woods or plants that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is denser than water, although usage of the name ironwood in English may or may not indicate a tree that yields such heavy wood.
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 (3,281 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.
Castanopsis, commonly called chinquapin or chinkapin, is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 140 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. A total of 58 species are native to China, with 30 endemic; the other species occur further south, through Indochina to Indonesia and the Philippines, mountainous areas of Taiwan, and also in Japan. The English name chinkapin is shared with other related plants, including the golden chinkapins of the Pacific United States, which are sometimes included within Castanopsis but are more often considered a separate but very closely related genus, Chrysolepis.
Parrotia persica, the Persian ironwood, is a deciduous tree in the family Hamamelidaceae, closely related to the witch-hazel genus Hamamelis. It is native to Iran's Caspian region and Azerbaijan. It is endemic in the Alborz mountains, where it is found mainly in Golestan National Park.
Ostryopsis is a small genus of deciduous shrubs belonging to the birch family Betulaceae. The species have no common English name, though hazel-hornbeam has been suggested, reflecting their similarities to the closely related hazels and hop-hornbeams.
Teucrium is a cosmopolitan genus of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae, commonly known as germanders. Plants in this genus are perennial herbs or shrubs, with branches that are more or less square in cross-section, leaves arranged in opposite pairs, and flowers arranged in thyrses, the corolla with mostly white to cream-coloured, lobed petals.
Trachelospermumstar jasmine, Confederate jasmine, is a genus of evergreen woody vines in the dogbane family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1851. All species are native to southern and eastern Asia.
Ostrya virginiana, the American hophornbeam, is a species of Ostrya native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Manitoba and eastern Wyoming, southeast to northern Florida and southwest to eastern Texas. Populations from Mexico and Central America are also regarded as the same species, although some authors prefer to separate them as a distinct species, Ostrya guatemalensis. Other names include eastern hophornbeam, hardhack, ironwood, and leverwood.
Ostrya rehderiana is a tree in the Betulaceae family. It can grow up to 15 metres (49 ft) tall. It is endemic to Zhejiang province in China. The wild population apparently consists of only five trees on Tianmu Mountain, and the species is under first-class national protection in China.
Ostrya japonica, known as East Asian hophornbeam, or Japanese hop-hornbeam, is a species of tree in the Betulaceae family growing to 25 m tall. It is native to Japan, Korea and China. In China, it occurs in temperate forests of southern Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, and Shaanxi provinces at altitudes between 1,000–2,800 metres (3,300–9,200 ft). In Japan it is known as Asada (浅田).
Stigmella microtheriella is a moth of the family Nepticulidae, found in Asia, Europe and New Zealand. The larvae mine the leaves of hazel and hornbeams. It was described by the English entomologist, Henry Tibbats Stainton in 1854 from a type specimen found in England.
Ostrya carpinifolia, the European hop-hornbeam, is a tree in the family Betulaceae. It is the only species of the genus Ostrya that is native to Europe.
Ostrya knowltonii is a species of tree known by the common names Knowlton's hophornbeam, western hophornbeam, woolly hophornbeam, and wolf hophornbeam. It is also one of many trees called ironwood. It is native to Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States, but its distribution is localized and sporadic.
Eucommia is a genus of small trees now native to China, with a fossil record that shows a much wider distribution. The single living species, Eucommia ulmoides, is near threatened in the wild, but is widely cultivated in China for its bark, and is highly valued in herbology such as traditional Chinese medicine.
Ostrya chisosensis, common name Big Bend hop-hornbeam or Chisos hop-hornbeam, is a plant species endemic to Texas. It is known only from the Chisos Mountains inside Big Bend National Park, in Brewster County, although related populations in northern Chihuahua have not been studied in detail and may be the same species. It grows along streambanks and on the walls of canyons.
