Back to the page
  • Welcome
  • Visit us
    • Visit us
    • Opening times & information
    • Visiting – travel, dogs, toilets, etc.
    • Ticket Prices
    • Pre-book tickets
    • Garden map
    • Group Visits
    • Tours
    • Press and photography
    • The Garden Café
    • The Garden Shop
  • Accessibility
  • What’s on
  • The Garden
    • The Garden
    • About the Garden
    • Horticultural Collections
    • Understanding Plant Labels
    • History of the Garden
    • Wildlife
    • Plant picks of the week
  • Learning
    • Learning
    • Schools
    • Colleges and Universities
    • Adult Learning
    • Family Activities
    • Communities
    • Science on Sundays
    • Trails for Adults
    • Certificate in Botanical Horticulture
  • Science
    • Science
    • Our Science Staff
    • Our Staff Publications
    • Your Science
    • Supporting Your Research
    • Phenology Project
  • Collections
    • Collections
    • Living Collections
    • Seed Bank
    • Herbarium
    • Cory Library
    • Archives
    • Living Collections Portal
    • Botanic Dyes
  • News
  • Support Us
  • Friends
    • Friends
    • Join the Friends
    • Friends’ Events
    • Corporate Support and Corporate Friends
    • Gift Memberships
Donate
Cambridge University Botanic Garden
menu

Today's Opening Times:
10:00am - 6:00pm

  • News
  • Support Us
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Home
  • Visit us
    • Ticket Prices
    • Opening times & Information
    • Visiting – travel, dogs, toilets, etc.
    • Garden Map
    • Group Visits
    • Tours
    • Pre-book tickets
    • Press & Photography
    • The Garden Shop
    • The Garden Café
    • Accessibility
    • Virtual Visits
  • What’s on
  • The Garden
    • About the Garden
    • Horticultural Collections
    • Understanding Plant Labels
    • History of the Garden
    • Wildlife
    • Plant picks of the week
  • Learning
    • Schools
    • Colleges and Universities
    • Adult Learning
    • Family Activities
    • Communities
    • Science on Sundays
    • Trails for Adults
    • Certificate in Botanical Horticulture
  • Science
    • Our Science Staff
    • Our Staff Publications
    • Your Science
    • Supported Publications
    • Supporting Your Research
    • Phenology Project
  • Collections
    • Living Collections
    • Herbarium
    • Seed Bank
    • Cory Library
    • Archives
    • Collecting Expeditions
    • National Plant Collections ®
    • Living Collections Portal
    • Botanic Dyes
  • Friends
    • Join the Friends
    • Gift Memberships
    • Friends’ Events
    • Corporate Support and Corporate Friends
  • Open search panel
Close search panel
The female catkins of the Hop Hornbeam develop beautiful papery fruiting structures.
Home The Garden Garden and plantings Trees Hop Hornbeam
Share Created with Sketch.
  • Email Share this with Email
  • Facebook Share this with Facebook
  • Twitter Share this with Twitter
  • Pinterest Share this with Pinterest
  • WhatsApp Share this with WhatsApp
  • Google + Share this with Google plus

Hop Hornbeam

Ostrya carpinifolia Betulaceae (Birch family)

The Hop Hornbeam is a substantial tree on the southern side of what is known amongst the Garden staff as the ‘Fairway’, a long finger of sward that projects eastwards towards Hills Road, adjacent to the South Walk.

In spring the light green leaves emerge pleated, opening out to a pointed, toothed oval.

The female catkins develop into beautiful, pendulous, fruiting structures containing many seeds, each fully enclosed in its own diamond-shaped paper case. These are arranged in an overlapping, whorled pattern to form dangling plaited-effect paper lanterns, resembling hop cones. The foliage turns a beautiful golden yellow in autumn.

This tree is part of a group with Zelkova (Caucasian Elm) and Pterocarya (Caucasian Wingnut) planted to illustrate deciduous species which once existed in Britain. They were extinguished during the ice-age cold periods, and never returned in the present, warm interglacial. These “Tertiary trees”, planted by John Gilmour, Director of the Botanic Garden from 1951- 1973, are a sad loss from our current British woodlands. You can see these trees today in the beautiful forests of the Caucasus region.

University of Cambridge Museums and Botanic Garden

Social

  • Follow us on YouTube
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Threads
  • Follow us on LinkedIn

© 2025 Cambridge University Botanic Garden

  • Privacy policy
  • Contact us