Maybe you can make out the incipient catkins in the middle of this picture, or the cloud effect they form high in the branches of this Eastern Hophornbeam.






This specimen in the North Woods is the only one in the Park that I'm aware of. The Hophornbeam should not be confused with the Hornbeams, European and American, which are common here. All of these trees are in the Birch family, though the Hornbeams are sometimes called 'Beeches' in folk taxonomy, owing to their smooth bark. Neither is the Hophornbeam related to Hops, but there is some resemblance in the seeds; hence the name. We can find an imported relative elsewhere.