Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ American Hornbeam

Carpinus caroliniana

Walt.

American Hornbeam

G5Secure Found in 29 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.149194
Element CodePDBET03010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderFagales
FamilyBetulaceae
GenusCarpinus
Other Common Names
American hornbeam (EN) Blue-beech (EN) Charme de Caroline (FR) Charme de Virginie (FR) Ironwood (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-07-30
Change Date1984-02-29
Edition Date2024-07-30
Edition AuthorsJaster, T.(TNC-LASP), rev. Johnson, J. (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Carpinus caroliniana is an understory tree found throughout eastern North America. With a large range extent, more than 1000 occurrences, abundant habitat, broad habitat preferences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Carpinus caroliniana is widespread across the eastern United States and southern Canada from Minnesota to Maine south to east Texas and central Florida. Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024, there are estimated to be more than 1000 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Carpinus caroliniana is potentially threatened by development, road maintenance, invasive species, and other threats in some places. However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range, large number of occurrences, and affinity for typically abundant habitats, as well as no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Carpinus carolinana grows in the understory of rich deciduous forest along stream and river banks, flood plains and bottomland forests, cove forests, maritime forests, and moist slopes and hillsides (FNA 1997, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest - HardwoodForest - Mixed
Palustrine Habitats
FORESTED WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
AlabamaSNRYes
New JerseySNRYes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
VermontS5Yes
TexasSNRYes
ArkansasSNRYes
FloridaS4Yes
MississippiSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
ConnecticutSNRYes
South CarolinaSNRYes
LouisianaSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
IowaS4Yes
New YorkS5Yes
MaineSNRYes
KentuckySNRYes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
TennesseeSNRYes
MassachusettsSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
MarylandSNRYes
IllinoisS5Yes
VirginiaS5Yes
MissouriSNRYes
WisconsinSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
North CarolinaS5Yes
New HampshireSNRYes
IndianaS5Yes
DelawareS5Yes
West VirginiaS5Yes
District of ColumbiaS5Yes
GeorgiaSNRYes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
OntarioS5Yes
QuebecSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undeterminedUnknownUnknownUnknown

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (29)
Arkansas (5)
AreaForestAcres
Clifty CanyonOzark-St. Francis National Forest1,963
Devils CanyonOzark-St. Francis National Forest1,877
East ForkOzark-St. Francis National Forest13,037
Little BlakelyOuachita National Forest3,342
PenhookOzark-St. Francis National Forest6,566
Kentucky (1)
AreaForestAcres
WolfpenDaniel Boone National Forest2,835
Missouri (1)
AreaForestAcres
Irish Rare II Study AreaMark Twain National Forest1,226
North Carolina (7)
AreaForestAcres
Bald MountainPisgah National Forest11,085
Balsam ConePisgah National Forest10,591
Cheoah BaldNantahala National Forest7,795
Craggy MountainPisgah National Forest2,657
South Mills RiverPisgah National Forest8,588
Tusquitee BaldNantahala National Forest13,670
Wesser BaldNantahala National Forest4,061
Pennsylvania (1)
AreaForestAcres
Tracy RidgeAllegheny National Forest9,034
Texas (2)
AreaForestAcres
Little Lake CreekNational Forests in Texas596
Winters BayouNational Forests in Texas730
Vermont (2)
AreaForestAcres
Bread LoafGreen Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests1,768
Griffith Lake 09084Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests1,833
Virginia (6)
AreaForestAcres
Beards MountainGeorge Washington National Forest7,505
Gum RunGeorge Washington National Forest12,620
Kelley MountainGeorge Washington National Forest7,590
Patterson MountainJefferson National Forest4,865
Price MountainJefferson National Forest9,119
Ramseys Draft AdditionGeorge Washington National Forest12,781
West Virginia (4)
AreaForestAcres
Dry ForkMonongahela National Forest657
Glady ForkMonongahela National Forest3,239
Little MountainMonongahela National Forest8,172
Mcgowan MountainMonongahela National Forest10,504
References (8)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 1997. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 3. Magnoliophyta: Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiii + 590 pp.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
  3. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  4. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  5. Little, E.L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agriculture Handbook No. 541. U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D.C. 375 pp.
  6. Record, S., and C. Mell. 1924. Timbers of Tropical America. New Haven: Yale University Press, U.S.A. 610 pages.
  7. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2024. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2024).
  8. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2025. Flora of the southeastern United States Web App. Edition of February 18, 2025. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Online. Available: https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu (accessed 2025).