Here's an understory tree that produces fall colors in yellow with hints of orange, maroon and sometimes bright red.  
 
     Hornbeam grows 20 to 30 feet tall and also is called Musclewood because the trunk looks like muscles and sinews underneath the bark are straining to hold the tree up.
 
    The best fall color is in full sun--as long as it has enough moisture--although Hornbeam also tolerates full shade.  Its happy spot is partial shade.  It makes a great specimen and can be pruned to form a hedge.
 
     Hornbeam is a host for several moth and butterfly species including the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.  Songbirds, squirrels, wild turkeys, ruffed grouse, foxes and other critters eat the seeds and buds.
 
     Read our blog on Hornbeam here.
     1st photo: Muriel Anderson