Ostrya virginiana (Mill.) K. Koch

vernacular hophornbeam — species · Betulaceae

USDA: OSVI
GBIF: 5332289
Rank: species

hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) — Platephotograph · Patrick CoinCC BY-NC-SA source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Shrub, Tree
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Betulaceae Gray
Genus: Ostrya

§2a

Native status, by region

CAN Canada Native
L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 4 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 4 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Medium
Shade: Low
Moisture use: Low
Fire: Medium
Salinity: None
Anaerobic: None
CaCO₃: Medium
Hedging: None

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -38 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 100 min.
Precipitation: 18–60 in/yr
pH range: 4.2–7.6
Root depth: 16 in min.
Fertility need: Low
Soil texture: coarse, medium, fine

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Single Stem
Growth rate: Slow
Lifespan: Short
Mature height: 45 ft
Height @ 20 y: 20 ft
Foliage texture: Medium
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Moderate
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: Yellow
Fruit colour: Brown
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Mid Spring
Seed abundance: Low
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Summer
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: Yes
Seeds / lb: 30,000
Propagation: seed, bare root, container

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Routinely Available
Nursery stock: Yes
Browse palatability: Medium
Palatable, human: No
Lumber: No
Fuelwood: High
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 4 counties across 1 state.

Rhode Island view state ↗ 4 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/OSVI ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/5332289 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z