Hornbeam or wych elm?

Both have leaves with big and small teeth and straight, parallel veins, and young, bushy elm can pass for hornbeam.

The quickest check

The quickest check is the leaf stalk. Hornbeam: 6 to 12 mm, silky at first. Wych elm: 2 mm at most, close to the twig. No leaves on the tree? Check the older trunk.

At a glance

Look at	Hornbeam	Wych elm
Leaf stalk	6 to 12 mm, silky at first	2 mm at most, close to the twig
Older trunk	Smooth grey, running in ridges and hollows	Greyish brown, in shaggy ridges
Fruit	Small ribbed nut on a three-lobed flap	Flat papery disc, seed dead centre

Three ways to tell them apart

Leaf stalkLeaves

Hornbeam6 to 12 mm, silky at first

Wych elm2 mm at most, close to the twig

Older trunkBark

Hornbeam: older trunk — HornbeamSmooth grey, running in ridges and hollows

Wych elm: older trunk — Wych elmGreyish brown, in shaggy ridges

FruitSeeds

Hornbeam: fruit — HornbeamSmall ribbed nut on a three-lobed flap

Wych elm: fruit — Wych elmFlat papery disc, seed dead centre

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

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 →

Wych elm

Ulmus glabra

Wych elm has big leaves up to 18 cm long, rough as sandpaper on top and almost stalkless. In spring its twigs are crowded with flat, winged seeds.

How to identify wych elm →

Their other lookalikes

Hornbeam or common beech?Quickest check: the trunk surface

Hornbeam or common whitebeam?Quickest check: the trunk

Hornbeam or field elm?Quickest check: the leaf surface

Hornbeam or hazel?Quickest check: what holds each nut

Hornbeam or sweet chestnut?Quickest check: the leaf length

Wych elm or hazel?Quickest check: the base of the leaf

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

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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: Drepanostoma (CC BY 4.0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0), Ewan Shilland (CC BY 4.0), Sinclair Laing (CC BY 4.0), anniet39 (CC0), Scott Shanks (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.