You don’t often see leaves in winter way high up in a big beech tree. They hang on for much of the winter, after turning tan. What Is the Difference Between Horse Chestnut & a Chestnut Tree? The leaves are dull green above and lighter green below and turn yellow or brown in the autumn. The foliage of the Antarctic beech changes to bronze or gold in the fall. Ornamental Trees With Small Prickly Fruit, Penn State University: The Virtual Nature Trail at Penn State New Kensington: American Beech, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens: Rhizotron and Xstrata Treetop Walkway: Roble Beech, Cal Poly Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute: Antarctic Beech, Cal Poly Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute: Roble Beech, Cal Poly Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute: Dombey's Southern Beech, Cal Poly Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute: American Beech, Arborday.org: The Tree Guide: American Beech. American beech is more difficult to propagate and produce in the nursery than European beech so it is not often sold in commercial nurseries. American Beech Tree and Your Fall Foliage Design But the best features of the American beech tree are its fall foliage and winter interest, although it is an attractive specimen year-round. Site design : Academic Web Pages. Her professional experience includes teaching and tutoring students of all ages in literature, history and writing. The leaves of beech trees are alternate with entire or sparsely toothed leaf margins with straight parallel veins and on short stalks. All produce fall color except for Dombey's Southern beech, which is an evergreen. It is a deciduous tree growing to 20–35 m (66–115 ft) tall, with smooth, silver-gray bark. Molly by the beech, summer 2018. It is the fifth … How Tall Does an American Chestnut Tree Get? A cold spell and snow ensured the leaves on most trees crinkled up and turned brown. The Antarctic variety has brown or green grooved or scaly bark, as do the trunks of the roble and Dombey's Southern beech, though the bark on these trees may also be gray in color and have a smooth texture. The copper beech, for example, has deep red or purple leaves that turn lighter in the fall). These carvings remain on the tree indefinitely. N-318 Ag Sciences Center University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40546-0091, Fax (Lexington): 859-257-2859       (Princeton): 270-365-2667Â, For questions about home gardening, landscaping or commercial horticulture production, please contact your county extension agent. It prefers full sun but will tolerate shade. As the Latin name grandiflora indicates, the tree has elliptical leaves that are large for the genus, up to 5 inches long. It … Huge forests of American beech were thriving in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and central Michigan when colonists arrived. The American Beech is botanically called Fagus grandiflora. It will not tolerate wet or compacted soils. Beech ashes were used to make soap. Still, the longevity of American beech bark and its irresistible resemblance to paper cannot be dismissed. All four trees have moderately dense foliage and are useful as shade trees. It grows in the widest range of areas, being found in USDA zones 3 to 8. The American beech is a common tree found in the forests and woods of eastern part of … The leaves of the American and the roble may change color in the fall -- bronze or yellow for the American and red, gold or orange for the roble -- or they may remain green before shedding. There are 13 species of beech. The massive trunk has beautiful silver gray bark; the dark green summer foliage turns a golden bronze in the fall. Beech (Fagus) is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae. Although there is an American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) which is native to the East and Utah, the tagged tree in City Park is a European Beech (Fagus sylvatica. Figure 1. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. pH of 5 to 6.5. Beech has paper-smooth bark and, unfortunately, many people are compelled to carve into it. Copyright 2020, University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Clark has also published short literary fiction in the "Southern Humanities Review" and has co-authored a novel. For the American beech, these marcescent leaves occur on younger trees and on the lower branches of older trees. The Tree is a deciduous tree, it will be up to 30 m (99 ft) high. The beech tree's exacting requirements for growth made it an indicator of good farm land and as colonists began clearing land, the beech disappeared. No, this is not about identifying palm trees or any of the various other flora found on beaches, but rather a very common and very useful tree. They are from two and a half to six inches long and two and a half inches wide, elliptical in shape with many parallel side veins and coarse, saw-toothed edges. The bark is a medium gray and the canopy forms a dense oval to rounded crown. Beech trees have male and female flowers on the same tree, so that wouldn’t be a reason. However, beech leaves and twigs are not preferred by white-tailed deer and are only browsed when there is very little available. The beech tree can be recognized by its smooth gray bark and abundant foliage and can most often be found in woodland areas that have plenty of access to water. Its branches are stronger than the other varieties, which are rated medium in strength. It is a sturdy, imposing, large deciduous tree typically growing to 60 to 80 feet tall or more with a dense, upright-oval to a rounded-spreading … Identification of the American Beech: This tree normally grows from 50 to 70 feet tall, with a rounded crown. Other trees such as sugar maple are occasionally marcescent. American beech (Fagus grandifolia), whose smooth gray trunks can resemble giant elephant legs, can grow to almost 40 meters tall. The American beech tree along with a few other species such as scarlet and pin oaks have leaves classified as marcescent, which means the leaves wither but do not detach from the branches. WARNING: Some websites to which these materials provide links for the convenience of users are not managed by the University of Kentucky. Like the roble, found in USDA zones 7 through 9, the Antarctic grows up to 50 feet tall, while Dombey's Southern beech reaches 65 feet in USDA zones 8 and 9. The beech tree is a sturdy and imposing tree with a short trunk and wide-spreading crown. This site was last updated on December 18, 2020. American hornbeam, also known as blue beech (Carpinus caroliniana), and ironwood, aka American hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) also tend to hold leaves. Her work includes articles on gardening, education and literature. They are native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America. American beech has no serious insect or disease problems, but nectria canker and beech scale are potential problems. Beech, More pictures, images & photos of Beech Trees. They are between 3 and 6 inches long, with saw-toothed edges. In hilly locations, it was the home for migrating Passenger Pigeons who were so numerous that they broke off the limbs of the trees from the sheer weight of their numbers when they perched on them. The Antarctica, roble and Dombey's Southern beech also produce beechnuts, though they are smaller, growing no larger than 1/4 inch. The leaves are oblong and the flowers are greenish. Infection can lead to the death of the tree. Beech Family (Fagaceae) Introduction: American beech is a distinctive and elegant forest tree in Kentucky and throughout eastern North America. In North America, all beech trees have green leaves. Beechnuts attract squirrels, birds and other mammals, making them centerpieces for wildlife observation. The pale, brownish blooms aren't showy. Beech is prone to decay if wood is damaged andimproper pruning will decrease its life span. Beech, also known as Fagus is a genus that includes ten species of deciduous trees, which belong to the family Fagaceae.Beech trees are native to the temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. The national champion American beech (115 feet) is in Maryland. The scars of an inscription ("D. Boon Cilled A Bar On Tree In Year 1760"), which had been legible some 35 years before, remained on its trunk. Typically, among trees that hang onto leaves after they’ve turned brown, it’s the younger ones that do this the most. Identifying features of these four varieties isn't difficult, though telling them apart can be as they are similar in many ways. Beech bark disease is a fungal infection that attacks the American beech through damage caused by scale insects. For graduate student information, contact Dr. Doug Archbold at 859-257-3352, or darchbol@uky.edu, American Beech - Fagus grandifoliaBeech Family (Fagaceae). She holds a Bachelor of the Arts in political science and a Master of Fine Arts in writing. Beech leaves are typically oblong or oval and medium to dark, glossy green. The American beech is found in the eastern United States and in southeast Canada. Beech trees are monoecious, producing both male and female flowers on one tree. The American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) is a large, deciduous tree that grows in northern hardwood forests in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York.Sugar Maples and American Beech trees are the two dominant trees of the northern hardwood forest, often found growing together. The flowers are small and single-sexed (monoecious) and the female flowers are borne in pairs. The American beech is notable for its smooth, gray bark and slender twigs that become distinctive after leaves are shed. 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