Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

Japanese hornbeam Betulaceae Carpinus japonica Blume Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol:
Leaf: Alternate, simple, elliptical to ovate, weakly heart-shaped base (or rounded), serrated, 2 to 4 inches long, pinnately veined, veins deeply sunken on upper surface giving the leaf a distinctly quilted look, slightly doubly serrated, waxy smooth, green above and paler below.
Flower: Species is monoecious; males slender, hanging catkins, yellow-green, 1 to 2 inches long; female catkins with more conspicuous leafy bracts, yellow green and 2 to 3 inches long; appearing in mid to late spring.
Fruit: Small, ribbed nutlet carried on a coarsely serrated, folded leafy bract (1 inch long), bracts are densely clustered on a 2 to 3 inch long hanging, sausage-shaped, showy cluster, ripen in early fall and disperse through the winter.
Twig: Slender, smooth, red brown, vertical lighter lenticels; 1/4 inch long cone-shaped buds are green turning to a light brown; flower buds larger and on older parts of twigs.
Bark: Thin, smooth gray brown when young, splitting into shallow furrows; distinctly fluted trunk.
Form: A small tree reaching up to 30 feet tall with a dense v-shaped crown.
 Looks like: European hornbeam - hornbeam

Japanese hornbeam leaf image
Japanese hornbeam flower image
Japanese hornbeam fruit image
Japanese hornbeam twig image
Japanese hornbeam bark image
Japanese hornbeam form image
Japanese hornbeam map image

Additional Range Information: Carpinus japonica is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and is not known to widely escape cultivaton. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: - USDAFS Forest Products Lab
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information