How to tell the difference between beech and hornbeam wood?

Question

I have a mystery tree in my garden, it looks like a beech but it never has beech nuts, it also looks like a hornbeam, I'm basing these deductions on a tree book I've got but my Aunt is convinced it's a beech. The only other thing I can say about it is the wood its self is pale, almost white with a very fine grain.

Answer 1

male beech trees don't get nuts. Just the female beech  trees do. 3 out of 4 are female. I know cause we use to have a male in our yard that had the same situation.