Hornbeam tree identification

[603bonsai]

I’m very unfamiliar with prunus species so it could be one of those. I can only speak to what I know well

Sorry for the confusion, those are other common names for sweet birch. I think you’ve made a good guess with sweet birch.

 

[GGB]

Here are the bark and buds from my sweet birch. It’s hard to say for sure. But identifying a tree by bark alone is a bad idea. Unless it’s a super unique quality, there can be a lot of variability. And I have to say that the buds are pretty common looking on this tree too. In fact they look to me very similar to hop hornbeam. Time will tell eventually

 

[603bonsai]

View attachment 520005


View attachment 520008

Here are the bark and buds from my sweet birch. It’s hard to say for sure. But identifying a tree by bark alone is a bad idea. Unless it’s a super unique quality, there can be a lot of variability. And I have to say that the buds are pretty common looking on this tree too. In fact they look to me very similar to hop hornbeam. Time will tell eventually

Thanks for the good pictures. Yeah that’s a pretty close match. Bark is a little different, but like you said bark variation within species is the norm. I have mature yellow birch on my property sporting bark that does not look like yellow birch, and that species is pretty easy from bark alone.

Thanks again for the help. Much appreciated. I’ll make sure to let you know what it is 10 years from now when it matures!

 

[603bonsai]

I’ll get some winter bud pictures tomorrow and post them here. Maybe that will help.

 

[603bonsai]

Thanks for the good pictures. Yeah that’s a pretty close match. Bark is a little different, but like you said bark variation within species is the norm. I have mature yellow birch on my property sporting bark that does not look like yellow birch, and that species is pretty easy from bark alone.

Thanks again for the help. Much appreciated. I’ll make sure to let you know what it is 10 years from now when it matures!

Darn near 100% you are correct that it is sweet beech now. Young sweet birch throws off two leaves from spurs and has few if any leaves on its terminal buds. Exactly how mine carries its foliage. Hophornbeams only have a single leaf on their spurs.

Thank you for the solid ID. Now I’ve got to find out if it’s a good bonsai candidate!!

 

[penumbra]

At first glance it looks like Japanese hornbeam, but it is not. The Japanese hornbeam has 20 some veins in the leaf while the Korean is about 13 I believe. Leaves are a bit small for European or American hornbeam so this leads me to birch. Growth habit also resembles birch.
Your later pictures I believe confirm sweet birch.