Also known as blue-beech, ironwood, and musclewood, the
hornbeam is a small understory tree. The various common names come from the resemblance of the bark to that of the American
beech Fagus grandifolia, the hardness of the wood and the muscular appearance of the trunk. The wood is generally not used for much due to the small size of the tree, but it's hardness has lent it to toolmaking and other crafts requiring hardness over quantity.