Eastern Hornbeam

Oriental hornbeam is usually a small tree, rarely over 10 m tall and often shrubby. It may, however, also grow to become a substantial tree of up to 20 m height. In comparison to common hornbeam, it is characterised by a generally smaller stature and smaller leaves, which are only 3–5 cm in length. The seeds have a simple bract, not trilobed like Carpinus betulus, that is about 2 cm long.

Oriental hornbeam assumes an extensive but patchy distribution in the central and eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia, the Caucasus and Hyrcania in Iran. Generally, its distribution matches the southeastern part of that of common hornbeam, but Oriental hornbeam penetrates deeper into southern Italy and Greece. In Europe, the species is broadly distributed in the southern half of Italy, on the Adriatic coast and in the Balkans, chiefly south of the Danube. In Asia, its distribution becomes patchier in coastal Anatolia, but it also occurs across the Caucasus and the Hyrcanian forest regions.