Common beechJuraj Ahel, CC BY 4.0
Common beech
HornbeamDrepanostoma, CC BY 4.0
Hornbeam
Lookalikes

Common beech or hornbeam?

Both have smooth grey bark, oval pointed leaves, and dead leaves held low down in winter.

The quickest check

The quickest check is the trunk surface. Common beech: smooth and round, like a column. Hornbeam: smooth, rising and falling in ridges and hollows.

At a glance

Look atCommon beechHornbeam
Trunk surfaceSmooth and round, like a columnSmooth, rising and falling in ridges and hollows
Leaf edgeWavy and hair-fringed, barely toothedBig teeth with smaller ones between
Bare shootBuds standing well out, at about 60 degreesHeld close to the shoot, tips curving in

Three ways to tell them apart

Trunk surfaceBark
Common beech: trunk surface
Common beechSmooth and round, like a column
Hornbeam: trunk surfaceEwan Shilland, CC BY 4.0
HornbeamSmooth, rising and falling in ridges and hollows
Leaf edgeLeaves
Common beech: leaf edgeKieran Roy Powell, CC BY 4.0
Common beechWavy and hair-fringed, barely toothed
Hornbeam: leaf edgeJoss Carr, CC BY 4.0
HornbeamBig teeth with smaller ones between
Bare shootTwigs and buds
Common beech: bare shoot
Common beechBuds standing well out, at about 60 degrees
Hornbeam: bare shootNick Butcher, CC BY 4.0
HornbeamHeld close to the shoot, tips curving in
Think you can tell them apart now? Try the tree quiz: real photographs, and what gives each tree away.Take the quiz

The two trees

Common beech

Fagus sylvatica

Beech is a big tree with smooth, silvery grey bark on a round trunk. Its long, pointed copper buds stand out from the twig at a wide angle.

How to identify common beech →

Hornbeam

Carpinus betulus

Hornbeam is a broad, dense tree, often clipped as a hedge. Its smooth grey trunk is ridged like muscle, with wriggling silver or orange marks running up it.

How to identify hornbeam →

Their other lookalikes

Common beechAlderCommon beech or alder?Quickest check: the tip of a leafCommon beechCommon ashCommon beech or common ash?Quickest check: the older trunkCommon beechSweet chestnutCommon beech or sweet chestnut?Quickest check: the huskCommon beechEnglish oakCommon beech or English oak?Quickest check: the older trunkCommon beechHazelCommon beech or hazel?Quickest check: the tip of a leafHornbeamCommon whitebeamHornbeam or common whitebeam?Quickest check: the trunkHornbeamField elmHornbeam or field elm?Quickest check: the leaf surfaceHornbeamHazelHornbeam or hazel?Quickest check: what holds each nutHornbeamWych elmHornbeam or wych elm?Quickest check: the older trunkHornbeamSweet chestnutHornbeam or sweet chestnut?Quickest check: the leaf length
In the app

See them side by side in Treely

  • Both trees, part by partLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed through the year
  • Every lookalike side by sideThe checks that settle it, for every pair people mix up
  • A short round each dayUntil you can tell them apart at a glance
  • The full GuideBoth trees written up in full, with where to find them
App StoreGoogle Play

Free to download.

Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.

Photographs: Juraj Ahel (CC BY 4.0), Drepanostoma (CC BY 4.0), Leon Cross (CC BY 4.0), Ewan Shilland (CC BY 4.0), Kieran Roy Powell (CC BY 4.0), Joss Carr (CC BY 4.0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0), Nick Butcher (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.