Lesson plan
Ostrya
Ostrya is a genus of eight to 10 small deciduous tree species belonging to the birch family, Betulaceae. Common names include hop-hornbeam, hophornbeam and sometimes ironwood, a name shared with a number of other plants. The genus is native in southern Europe, southwest and eastern Asia, and North and Central America. They have a conical or irregular crown and a scaly, rough bark. They have alternate and double-toothed birch-like leaves 3–10 cm long. The flowers are produced in spring, with male catkins 5–10 cm long and female aments 2–5 cm long. The fruit form in pendulous clusters 3–8 cm long with 6–20 seeds; each seed is a small nut 2–4 mm long, fully enclosed in a bladder-like involucre. The wood is very hard and heavy. The genus name Ostrya is derived from the Greek word ( ), which may be related to ( ) "shell (of an animal)". Regarded as a weed tree by some foresters , this hard and stable wood was historically used to fashion plane soles. Ostrya species host the larvae of various Lepidoptera species, providing food for winter moth, walnut sphinx, and Coleophora ostryae.
Article summary
Ostrya is a genus of eight to 10 small deciduous tree species belonging to the birch family, Betulaceae. Common names include hop-hornbeam, hophornbeam and sometimes ironwood, a name shared with a number of other plants. The genus is native in southern Europe, southwest and eastern Asia, and North and Central America. They have a conical or irregular crown and a scaly, rough bark. They have alternate and double-toothed birch-like leaves 3–10 cm long. The flowers are produced in spring, with male catkins 5–10 cm long and female aments 2–5 cm long. The fruit form in pendulous clusters 3–8 cm long with 6–20 seeds; each seed is a small nut 2–4 mm long, fully enclosed in a bladder-like involucre. The wood is very hard and heavy. The genus name Ostrya is derived from the Greek word ( ), which may be related to ( ) "shell (of an animal)". Regarded as a weed tree by some foresters , this hard and stable wood was historically used to fashion plane soles. Ostrya species host the larvae of various Lepidoptera species, providing food for winter moth, walnut sphinx, and Coleophora ostryae.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.