Common European Hornbeam

According to the Morton Arboretum, “[Common] European hornbeams are excellent in groupings around large buildings and also useful as screens, hedges, and windbreak trees. The European hornbeam has densely textured foliage and handsome, slate-gray smooth to fluted bark. The dark green leaves turn an attractive yellow in the fall, and the bark and buds are ornamental in winter.”
We like this tree as a substitute for the more common trees like Trident Maple, Chinese Elm, or Zelkova.