This small tree is located near the bottom of the stairs in the retaining wall by the chapel. It is between the sidewalk to 21st Ave.S. and the Central Library.
American hornbeam has
leaves similar to
hop hornbeam leaves. The
bark of American hornbeam is smooth like
beech bark (giving it one of its common names: "blue beech"), but looks like it has rippling muscles beneath it (giving it another of its common names: "muscle-tree"). This is quite different from the shreddy
bark of hop hornbeam. American hornbeam
fruits hang in a small cluster which has a more leafy look than the
hop hornbeam fruits.
American hornbeam is common in middle Tennessee forests.