Fagus sylvatica | |
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Alpine forest (Italy) | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fagales |
Family: | Fagaceae |
Genus: | Fagus |
Species: | F. sylvatica |
Binomial name | |
Fagus sylvatica | |
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Distribution map Fagus sylvatica Fagus orientalis (syn. F. sylvatica subsp. orientalis) Contents | |
Synonyms [2] | |
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Fagus sylvatica, the European beech or common beech, is a large, graceful deciduous tree in the beech family with smooth silvery-gray bark, large leaf area, and a short trunk with low branches. [3]
Fagus sylvatica is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to 50 metres (160 feet) tall [4] and 3 m (10 ft) trunk diameter, though more typically 25–35 m (82–115 ft) tall and up to 1.5 m (5 ft) trunk diameter. A 10-year-old sapling will stand about 4 m (13 ft) tall. Undisturbed, the European beech has a lifespan of 300 years; one tree at the Valle Cervara site was more than 500 years old—the oldest known in the northern hemisphere. [5] In cultivated forest stands trees are normally harvested at 80–120 years of age. [6] 30 years are needed to attain full maturity (as compared to 40 for American beech). Like most trees, its form depends on the location: in forest areas, F. sylvatica grows to over 30 m (100 ft), with branches being high up on the trunk. In open locations, it will become much shorter (typically 15–24 m or 50–80 ft) and more massive.
The leaves are alternate, simple, and entire or with a slightly crenate margin, 5–10 centimetres (2–4 inches) long and 3–7 cm broad, with 6–7 veins on each side of the leaf (as opposed to 7–10 veins in F. orientalis ). When crenate, there is one point at each vein tip, never any points between the veins. The buds are long and slender, 15–30 millimetres (5⁄8–1+1⁄8 in) long and 2–3 mm (3⁄32–1⁄8 in) thick, but thicker (to 4–5 mm) where the buds include flower buds.
The leaves of beech are often not abscissed (dropped) in the autumn and instead remain on the tree until the spring. This process is called marcescence. This particularly occurs when trees are saplings or when plants are clipped as a hedge (making beech hedges attractive screens, even in winter), but it also often continues to occur on the lower branches when the tree is mature.
Small quantities of seeds may be produced around 10 years of age, but not a heavy crop until the tree is at least 30 years old. F. sylvatica male flowers are borne in the small catkins which are a hallmark of the Fagales order (beeches, chestnuts, oaks, walnuts, hickories, birches, and hornbeams). The female flowers produce beechnuts, small triangular nuts 15–20 mm (5⁄8–3⁄4 in) long and 7–10 mm (1⁄4–3⁄8 in) wide at the base; there are two nuts in each cupule, maturing in the autumn 5–6 months after pollination. Flower and seed production is particularly abundant in years following a hot, sunny and dry summer, though rarely for two years in a row.
The European beech is the most abundant hardwood species in Austrian, German and Swiss forests. [7] The native range extends from the north, in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Bulgaria, eastern parts of Russia, Romania, through Europe to France, southern England, Spain (on the Cantabrian, Iberian and Central mountain ranges), [8] and east to northwest Turkey, [2] where it exhibits an interspecific cline with the oriental beech (Fagus orientalis), which replaces it further east. In the Balkans, it shows some hybridisation with oriental beech; these hybrid trees are named Fagus × taurica Popl. [Fagus moesiaca (Domin, Maly) Czecz.]. In the southern part of its range around the Mediterranean, and Sicily, [9] it grows only in mountain forests, at 600–1,800 m (1,969–5,906 ft) altitude.
Although often regarded as native in southern England, recent evidence suggests that F. sylvatica did not arrive in England until about 4000 BC, or 2,000 years subsequent to the English Channel forming following the ice ages; it could have been an early introduction by Stone Age humans, who used the nuts for food. [10] The beech is classified as a native in the south of England and as a non-native in the north where it is often removed from 'native' woods. [11] Localised pollen records have been recorded in the North of England from the Iron Age by Sir Harry Godwin. Changing climatic conditions may put beech populations in southern England under increased stress and while it may not be possible to maintain the current levels of beech in some sites it is thought that conditions for beech in north-west England will remain favourable or even improve. It is often planted in Britain. Similarly, the nature of Norwegian beech populations is subject to debate. If native, they would represent the northern range of the species. However, molecular genetic analyses support the hypothesis that these populations represent intentional introduction from Denmark before and during the Viking Age. [12] However, the beech in Vestfold and at Seim north of Bergen in Norway is now spreading naturally and regarded as native. [13]
Though not demanding of its soil type, the European beech has several significant requirements: a humid atmosphere (precipitation well distributed throughout the year and frequent fogs) and well-drained soil (being intolerant of excessive stagnant water). It prefers moderately fertile ground, calcified or lightly acidic, therefore it is found more often on the side of a hill than at the bottom of clayey basin. It tolerates rigorous winter cold, but is sensitive to spring frost. In Norway's oceanic climate planted trees grow well north to Bodø, and produce seedlings and can spread naturally in Trondheim. [14] In Sweden, beech trees do not grow as far north as in Norway. [15]
A beech forest is very dark and few species of plant are able to survive there, where the sun barely reaches the ground. Young beeches prefer some shade and may grow poorly in full sunlight. In a clear-cut forest a European beech will germinate and then die of excessive dryness. Under oaks with sparse leaf cover it will quickly surpass them in height and, due to the beech's dense foliage, the oaks will die from lack of sunlight.
The root system is shallow, even superficial, with large roots spreading out in all directions. European beech forms ectomycorrhizas with a range of fungi including many Russula species, as well as Laccaria amethystina , [16] and with the species Ramaria flavosaponaria . [17] Tomentella Pat. species and Cenococcum geophilum have been found in Danish and Spanish beech forests. These fungi are important in enhancing uptake of water and nutrients from the soil. [16]
In the woodlands of southern Britain, beech is dominant over oak and elm south of a line from about north Suffolk across to Cardigan. Oak are the dominant forest trees north of this line. One of the most beautiful European beech forests called Sonian Forest (Forêt de Soignes/Zoniënwoud) is found in the southeast of Brussels, Belgium. Beech is a dominant tree species in France and constitutes about 10% of French forests. The largest virgin forests made of beech trees are Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh (8,800 hectares or 22,000 acres) in Ukraine [18] and Izvoarele Nerei (5,012 ha or 12,380 acres in one forest body) in Semenic-Cheile Carașului National Park, Romania. These habitats are the home of Europe's largest predators, (the brown bear, the grey wolf and the lynx). [19] [20] [21] Many trees are older than 350 years in Izvoarele Nerei [22] and even 500 years in Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh. [18]
Spring leaf budding by the European beech is triggered by a combination of day length and temperature. Bud break each year is from the middle of April to the beginning of May, often with remarkable precision (within a few days). It is more precise in the north of its range than the south, and at 600 m (2,000 ft) than at sea level. [23]
The European beech invests significantly in summer and autumn for the following spring. Conditions in summer, particularly good rainfall, determine the number of leaves included in the buds. In autumn, the tree builds the reserves that will sustain it into spring. Given good conditions, a bud can produce a shoot with ten or more leaves. The terminal bud emits a hormonal substance in the spring that halts the development of additional buds. This tendency, though very strong at the beginning of their existence, becomes weaker in older trees.
It is only after the budding that root growth of the year begins. The first roots to appear are very thin (with a diameter of less than 0.5 mm). Later, after a wave of above ground growth, thicker roots grow in a steady fashion.
Fagus sylvatica and other beeches are prone to false heartwood ('red heart') a condition where drought, nutrient deficient soil, branch breakage, pathogen infestation or other stressor induces formation of protection wood. [24] False heartwood often manifests in the areas of the trunk associated with symplastless branches. As branch symplast dies, the trunk wood becomes depleted of nitrogen-containing molecules essential for life; this increases risk of catastrophic trunk failure. [25]
As the European Beech exhibits deterministic leaf and shoot development and has a larger leaf area than other European hardwood trees, it is relatively more sensitive to drought and may respond to a dry summer with pre-senescent leafdrop. [26]
Biscogniauxia nummularia (beech tarcrust) is an ascomycete primary pathogen of beech trees, causing strip-canker and wood rot. It can be found at all times of year and is not edible. [27]
European beech is a very popular ornamental tree in parks and large gardens in temperate regions of the world. In North America, they are preferred for this purpose over the native F. grandifolia, which despite its tolerance of warmer climates, is slower growing, taking an average of 10 years longer to attain maturity. The town of Brookline, Massachusetts has one of the largest, if not the largest, grove of European beech trees in the United States. The 2.5-acre (1 ha) public park, called 'The Longwood Mall', was planted sometime before 1850 qualifying it as the oldest stand of European beeches in the United States. [28]
It is frequently kept clipped to make attractive hedges.
Since the early 19th century there have been numerous cultivars of European beech made by horticultural selection, often repeatedly; they include:
The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:- [31]
The nuts are eaten by humans and animals. [39] Slightly toxic to humans if eaten in large quantities due to the tannins and alkaloids they contain, the nuts were nonetheless pressed to obtain an oil in 19th-century England that was used for cooking and in lamps. They were also ground to make flour, which could be eaten after the tannins were leached out by soaking. [40] [41] [42]
Primary Product AM 01, a smoke flavouring, is produced from Fagus sylvatica. [43]
The wood of the European beech is used in the manufacture of numerous objects and implements. Its fine and short grain makes it an easy wood to work with, easy to soak, dye, varnish and glue. Steaming makes the wood even easier to machine. It has an excellent finish and is resistant to compression and splitting and it is stiff when flexed. Milling is sometimes difficult due to cracking. The density of the wood is 720 kilograms (1,590 pounds) per cubic meter. [44] It is particularly well suited for minor carpentry, particularly furniture. From chairs to parquetry (flooring) and staircases, the European beech can do almost anything other than heavy structural support, so long as it is not left outdoors. Its hardness make it ideal for making wooden mallets and workbench tops. The wood rots easily if it is not protected by a tar based on a distillate of its own bark (as used in railway sleepers). [45] [46] It is better for paper pulp than many other broadleaved trees though is only sometimes used for this, the high cellulose content can also be spun into modal, which is used as a textile akin to cotton. The code for its use in Europe is fasy (from FAgus SYlvatica). Common beech is also considered one of the best firewoods for fireplaces. [47]
The Fagaceae are a family of flowering plants that includes beeches, chestnuts and oaks, and comprises eight genera with about 927 species. Fagaceae in temperate regions are mostly deciduous, whereas in the tropics, many species occur as evergreen trees and shrubs. They are characterized by alternate simple leaves with pinnate venation, unisexual flowers in the form of catkins, and fruit in the form of cup-like (cupule) nuts. Their leaves are often lobed, and both petioles and stipules are generally present. Their fruits lack endosperm and lie in a scaly or spiny husk that may or may not enclose the entire nut, which may consist of one to seven seeds. In the oaks, genus Quercus, the fruit is a non-valved nut called an acorn. The husk of the acorn in most oaks only forms a cup in which the nut sits. Other members of the family have fully enclosed nuts. Fagaceae is one of the most ecologically important woody plant families in the Northern Hemisphere, as oaks form the backbone of temperate forest in North America, Europe, and Asia, and are one of the most significant sources of wildlife food.
Beech (Fagus) is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Eurasia and North America. There are 13 accepted species in two distinct subgenera, Engleriana and Fagus. The subgenus Engleriana is found only in East Asia, distinctive for its low branches, often made up of several major trunks with yellowish bark. The better known Fagus subgenus beeches are native to Europe and North America. They are high-branching trees with tall, stout trunks and smooth silver-grey bark. The European beech Fagus sylvatica is the most commonly cultivated species, yielding a utility timber used for furniture construction, flooring and engineering purposes, in plywood, and household items. The timber can be used to build homes. Beechwood makes excellent firewood. Slats of washed beech wood are spread around the bottom of fermentation tanks for Budweiser beer. Beech logs are burned to dry the malt used in some German smoked beers. Beech is also used to smoke Westphalian ham, andouille sausage, and some cheeses.
Nyssa sylvatica, commonly known as tupelo, black tupelo, blackgum or sour gum, is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America from the coastal Northeastern United States and southern Ontario south to central Florida and eastern Texas, as well as Mexico.
Acer campestre, known as the field maple, is a flowering plant species in the family Sapindaceae. It is native to much of continental Europe, Britain, southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains. It has been widely planted, and is introduced outside its native range in Europe and areas of USA and Western Australia with suitable climate.
Betula pendula, commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into Siberia, China, and southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran. It has been introduced into North America, where it is known as the European white birch or weeping birch and is considered invasive in some states in the United States and parts of Canada. The tree can also be found in more temperate regions of Australia.
American sweetgum, also known as American storax, hazel pine, bilsted, redgum, satin-walnut, star-leaved gum, alligatorwood, gumball tree, or simply sweetgum, is a deciduous tree in the genus Liquidambar native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico and Central America. Sweetgum is one of the main valuable forest trees in the southeastern United States, and is a popular ornamental tree in temperate climates. It is recognizable by the combination of its five-pointed star-shaped leaves and its hard, spiked fruits. It is currently classified in the plant family Altingiaceae, but was formerly considered a member of the Hamamelidaceae.
Fagus grandifolia, the American beech or North American beech, is the only species of beech native to North America. Its current range comprises the eastern United States, isolated pockets of Mexico and southeastern Canada. Prior to the glacial maximum of the Pleistocene epoch, the tree flourished over most of North America, reaching California.
Picea omorika, commonly known as the Pančić spruce or Serbian spruce, is a species of coniferous tree endemic to the Drina River valley in western Serbia, and eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a total range of only about 60 ha, at 800–1,600 m (2,600–5,200 ft) altitude. It was originally discovered near the Serbian village of Zaovine, on Mount Tara, in 1875, and named by the Serbian botanist Josif Pančić; the specific epithet omorika is simply the Serbian word for the tree.
Carpinus betulus, the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family Betulaceae, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. It requires a warm climate for good growth, and occurs only at elevations up to 1,000 metres (3,281 ft). It grows in mixed stands with oak, and in some areas beech, and is also a common tree in scree forests. Hornbeam was also known as yoke elm.
Juglans nigra, the eastern American black walnut, is a species of deciduous tree in the walnut family, Juglandaceae, native to North America. It grows mostly in riparian zones, from southern Ontario, west to southeast South Dakota, south to Georgia, northern Florida and southwest to central Texas. Wild trees in the upper Ottawa Valley may be an isolated native population or may have derived from planted trees.
Fagus orientalis, commonly known as the Oriental beech, is a deciduous tree in the beech family Fagaceae. It is native to Eurasia, in Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
The dwarf beech, Fagus sylvatica Tortuosa Group, is a rare cultivar group of the European Beech with fewer than 1500 older specimens in Europe. It is also known as twisted beech or parasol beech.
Cedrus atlantica, the Atlas cedar, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae, native to the Rif and Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and to the Tell Atlas in Algeria. A majority of the modern sources treat it as a distinct species Cedrus atlantica, but some sources consider it a subspecies of Lebanon cedar.
Ilex aquifolium, the holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Aquifoliaceae, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia. It is regarded as the type species of the genus Ilex, which by association is also called "holly". It is an evergreen tree or shrub found, for example, in shady areas of forests of oak and in beech hedges. In the British Isles it is one of very few native hardwood evergreen trees. It has a great capacity to adapt to different conditions and is a pioneer species that repopulates the margins of forests or clearcuts.
Euonymus europaeus, the spindle, European spindle, or common spindle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to much of Europe, where it inhabits the edges of forest, hedges and gentle slopes, tending to thrive on nutrient-rich, chalky and salt-poor soils. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree.
The New Canaan Nature Center is a botanical garden, arboretum and nature preserve located at 144 Oenoke Ridge, Route 124, about 0.25 miles (0.40 km) north of the center of New Canaan, Connecticut.
Gmelina leichhardtii, the white beech, is a tree of eastern Australia. Scattered individuals or small groups of trees naturally occur from the Illawarra district of New South Wales to near Proserpine in tropical Queensland. The white beech or grey teak is a fast-growing tree, growing on volcanic and alluvial soils in areas of moderate to high rainfall. It also grows on poorer sedimentary soils in fire free areas. White beech may occasionally be seen in Australian rainforests, though their status is considered "uncommon". Unlike the Australian red cedar, the white beech has not recovered particularly well after logging in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Phytophthora kernoviae is a plant pathogen that mainly infects European beech and Rhododendron ponticum. It was first identified in 2003 in Cornwall, UK when scientists were surveying for the presence of Phytophthora ramorum. This made it the third new Phytophthora species to be found in the UK in a decade. It was named Phytophthora kernoviae after the ancient name for Cornwall, Kernow. It causes large stem lesions on beech and necrosis of stems and leaves of Rhododendron ponticum. It is self-fertile. It has also been isolated from Quercus robur and Liriodendron tulipifera. The original paper describing the species, stated it can infect Magnolia and Camellia species, Pieris formosa, Gevuina avellana, Michelia doltsopa and Quercus ilex. Since then many other plants have been identified as natural hosts of the pathogen. Molecular analysis has revealed that an infection on Pinus radiata, recorded in New Zealand in 1950, was caused by P. kernoviae. The pathogen was also noted on Drimys winteri, Gevuina avellana, Ilex aquifolium, Quercus ilex, Vaccinium myrtillus, Hedera helix, Podocarpus salignas.
The weeping beech, Fagus sylvatica 'Pendula', is a cultivar of the deciduous European beech. The original tree was found in the grounds of an English park, and it has been propagated by grafting, then many distributed widely.
Aceria nervisequa is a species of mite that belongs to the family Eriophyidae. It is found in Europe and was first described by Giovanni Canestrini in 1891. The mite causes galls on the leaves of beech,
Ramaria flavo-saponaria + Fagus selvatica (Raidl, Scattolin)