A small understory tree with extremely dense wood common on well-drained sites throughout the eastern U.S. except for the Atlantic coastal plain and Mississippi delta. Leaves are similar to B. alleghaniensis but secondary veins may branch. Twigs are slender. Buds are ovoid with scales striated longitudinally. Fruits are nutlets borne in a papery sac suspended in strobiles resembling clusters of hops, hence the alternate name, Hophornbeam. Bark is smooth and reddish-brown when young; later breaking into thin, shaggy plates that give it a charcteristic shreddy appearance.