Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in photo #1?
The answer to last week’s mystery is musclewood, Carpinus caroliniana, pictured in photo #2.
Musclewood, Carpinus caroliniana, gets its common name from the sinewy texture of its smooth, gray, fluted trunk, which resembles muscles. It’s also called ironwood for its very dense timber. Another common namer this tree is hornbeam. “Horn” because of its horn-like toughness, and “beam” for the old English word for tree. It’s also called blue-beech, which is misleading, as musclewood is not a beech, but a birch.
Musclewood is a small tree, found in bottomland understories. Beavers favor the strong tree for dam building, as well as for food. It’s a great material for making bowls and dishes, as it’s not likely to crack or leak. Settlers used musclewood for ox yokes, levers, and wedges.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.
0 Comments