Ostrya carpinifolia

European hop-hornbeam or ironwood is a member of the birch or Betulaceae family and is the only Ostrya native to Europe, occurring in is found in Lebanon, Italy, France, Austria, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria, southern Switzerland and Turkey. The tree can reach up to 24 m tall.

• Leaves are alternate, simple, glossy, oval, dark-green, 12 cm long and 5 cm across, pinnately veined, pointed and double-toothed.
• Flowers are catkins produced in early spring at the same time as the new leaves appear. Staminate (male) catkins are up to 12 cm long and are arranged in groups of 1–4. Pistillate (female) catkins are up to 5 cm long and contain 10–30 flowers each.
• Fruit is a small nutlet 3–5 mm long fully enclosed in a papery white sac (involcure) 1–1.8 cm long, with 6–20 sacs on each catkin, with bladder-like creamy husks in pendulous clusters up to 7 cm long.