Carpinus omeiensis KR 280

Collected originally on Mount Omei, Sichuan, by Keith Rushforth, this remains a very rare species of hornbeam in cultivation, though hardy and highly attractive. The very slender, semi-pendant branchlets are clothed with small, tapered, elegant leaves, pale grey under, and in this collection rich coppery-red when young. A small tree to 7m maximum, though it has yet to reach that size in cultivation.