Common whitebeamJon Mortin, CC BY 4.0
Common whitebeam
HornbeamDrepanostoma, CC BY 4.0
Hornbeam
Lookalikes

Common whitebeam or hornbeam?

Both have simple, oval, strongly veined leaves.

The quickest check

The quickest check is the leaf underside. Common whitebeam: white with soft hairs, all season. Hornbeam: matt, creased by 10 to 13 pairs of veins. No leaves on the tree? Check the trunk.

At a glance

Look atCommon whitebeamHornbeam
Leaf undersideWhite with soft hairs, all seasonMatt, creased by 10 to 13 pairs of veins
TrunkGrey and smooth, a few shallow splits with ageGrey, ridged like muscle, with silver or orange wriggles
FruitDull red berries in clustersSmall ribbed nuts, each on a three-lobed leafy flap

Three ways to tell them apart

Leaf undersideLeaves
Common whitebeamWhite with soft hairs, all season
HornbeamMatt, creased by 10 to 13 pairs of veins
TrunkBark
Common whitebeam: trunkEric Tittley, CC BY 4.0
Common whitebeamGrey and smooth, a few shallow splits with age
Hornbeam: trunkEwan Shilland, CC BY 4.0
HornbeamGrey, ridged like muscle, with silver or orange wriggles
FruitBerries
Common whitebeam: fruitScott Shanks, CC BY 4.0
Common whitebeamDull red berries in clusters
Hornbeam: fruit
HornbeamSmall ribbed nuts, each on a three-lobed leafy flap
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 whitebeam

Sorbus aria

Common whitebeam is a narrow-domed tree on stiff, steep branches, with oval, toothed leaves that are white and fuzzy underneath. In any breeze the whole crown flashes white.

How to identify common whitebeam →

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 whitebeamRowanCommon whitebeam or rowan?Quickest check: the blades on one stalkCommon whitebeamHawthornCommon whitebeam or hawthorn?Quickest check: the outlineCommon whitebeamWhite poplarCommon whitebeam or white poplar?Quickest check: the leaf outlineHornbeamCommon beechHornbeam or common beech?Quickest check: the trunk surfaceHornbeamField 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: Jon Mortin (CC BY 4.0), Drepanostoma (CC BY 4.0), Eric Tittley (CC BY 4.0), Ewan Shilland (CC BY 4.0), Scott Shanks (CC BY 4.0), anniet39 (CC0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.