ostrya

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

• n. A genus of apetalous trees, the hop-hornbeams, of the order Cupuliferæ, or oak family, and the tribe Coryleæ, known by the cone-like fruit of flattish-inflated membranaceous bracts inclosing small sessile bony nuts.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• n. deciduous monoecious trees of Europe and Asia and America; sometimes placed in subfamily or family Carpinaceae