European hornbeam is a durable, deciduous tree to 20 m with grey, fluted bark and serrated ovate leaves that turn yellow‑gold in autumn and often linger brown on branches into winter. Tolerant of heavy pruning, it is widely used for formal hedging and pleached screens, yet also makes a stately park tree. Thrives on clay or chalk, coping with shade, pollution and temporary flooding, hardy to −30 °C.