Scientific Name
Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’ 'Columnar European Hornbeam'
European hornbeam is native across much of temperate Europe, including southern England and parts of Scandinavia. Its range also extends into cooler portions of Mediterranean climates, such as the Balkans and the Black Sea coast of Turkey. A long-lived tree, it typically reaches about 40 feet in height in cultivation and is adaptable to a wide range of soil types. It grows well in full sun or partial shade.
The foliage somewhat resembles that of beech or elm, but like American hornbeam, the leaf veins are impressed, giving the leaves a distinctive corrugated, almost three-dimensional texture. Fall color is usually a clear, bright yellow. The fruit appears in short chains of wing-like bracts that enclose the seeds. Trunks often develop a fluted appearance while remaining smooth even with age.
In urban landscapes, this fastigiate cultivar is the form most often encountered. Its shape is neither strictly columnar nor broadly spreading. The tree tends to be narrow when young and matures to about half as wide as it is tall. Branching begins low on the trunk and angles strongly upward, creating a dense, upright canopy. The current Colorado champion of this cultivar stands at 31 feet, and the Regis specimen may well join that list before long.