Fagus grandifolia (American Beech)

Fagus grandifolia

Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.

Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. var. caroliniana (Loudon) Fernald & Rehder

Fagus americana Sweet

Fagus ferruginea Aiton

Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. ssp. heterophylla Camp

Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. var. caroliniana (Louden) Fernald & Rehder

American Beech

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Fagales	Birch, she-oak, beech, walnut, bayberry, others
Family	Fagaceae	Beech familhy
Genus	Fagus	Latin for “beech”
Species	grandifolia	“With large leaves”

About plant names...

American beech is native to eastern North America. These slow-growing trees once covered most of North America, and can reach 400 years in age.

Identification: These trees are 66-115' (20-35 m) in height, with very smooth bark that is silver-gray in color. Most tree bark roughens with age, but beech tree bark remains smooth unless attacked by disease. Trees can reproduce by “root suckering,” wherein spreading roots produce new trees, so it isn’t unusual for a mature tree to be surrounded by younger trees. Leaves are 3" (7.6 cm) long, alternate, roughly oval with pointed ends, shiny and waxy, dark green and smooth, with toothed edges. They have strong parallel veins. In the fall, they turn yellow, then a pale straw color in winter—often some of the leaves remain during the winter. Flowers of both sexes appear on the same tree (making beeches monoecious); both flowers are greenish and rounded, on stalks up to 1" (2.5 cm). Fruits, called beechnuts, are small three-winged nuts produced within a bur-like outer covering.

Online References:

Fagus grandifolia on www.carolinanature.com

Fagus grandifolia at the USDA Forest Service's Silvics of North America site

Fagus grandifolia on Wikipedia

Fagus grandifolia at the Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

Fagus grandifolia on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Fagus grandifolia at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Fagus grandifolia on Blue Planet Biomes

Fagus grandifolia on eFloras

References:

Sibley, David Allen, The Sibley Guide to Trees, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, p. 173

8/21/2017 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, MA
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.2 cm)

10/6/2011 · Shieling Forest, Peterborough, NH
≈ 12 × 8" (31 × 20 cm)

8/21/2017 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, MA
≈ 4½ × 3" (11 × 7.9 cm)

Young leaves. · 5/11/2016 · Pearl Hill State Park, Ashby, MA

12/22/2011 · Rte. 225, West Groton, MA ID is uncertain

10/6/2011 · Shieling Forest, Peterborough, NH
≈ 4½ × 3" (11 × 7.9 cm)

10/6/2011 · Shieling Forest, Peterborough, NH
≈ 11 × 7" (27 × 18 cm)

5/11/2016 · Pearl Hill State Park, Ashby, MA

4/24/2016 · Blue Trail, Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, NH

1/1/2012 · Big Tree Trail • Tudor Richards Natural History and Forest Trail, Hollis, NH
≈ 16 × 24" (41 × 62 cm)

9/28/2011 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, MA
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.2 cm) ID is uncertain

9/28/2011 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, MA
≈ 2½ × 2" (6.3 × 5.2 cm) ID is uncertain

8/21/2017 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, MA
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 8.7 cm)

8/9/2010 · Keyes Farm, Nashoba Conservation Trust, Elm St., Pepperell, MA
≈ 10 × 7" (25 × 16 cm)

Fagus grandifolia description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

4/1/2012 · Pearl Hill State Park, Yellow Trail, Townsend, MA
≈ 11 × 7" (27 × 18 cm)

12/22/2011 · Rte. 225, West Groton, MA ID is uncertain

8/9/2010 · Keyes Farm, Nashoba Conservation Trust, Elm St., Pepperell, MA
≈ 22 × 15" (56 × 37 cm)

3/9/2012 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, MA
≈ 31 × 46" (78 × 117 cm)

10/20/2013 · Barrett Park, Leominster, MA
≈ 21 × 31" (53 × 79 cm)

7/15/2020 · By Jacquelyn Boyt

Young leaves. · 5/11/2016 · Pearl Hill State Park, Ashby, MA

7/15/2020 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA

8/9/2010 · Keyes Farm, Nashoba Conservation Trust, Elm St., Pepperell, MA
≈ 6 × 4" (16 × 10 cm)

Does anyone know what causes the patterns on the bark? Young lichens? · 7/3/2012 · Yellow Trail from Pearl Hill State Park to Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, MA
≈ 6 × 9" (14 × 22 cm)

10/6/2011 · Shieling Forest, Peterborough, NH
≈ 9 × 14" (23 × 35 cm)

7/15/2020 · By Jacquelyn Boyt

12/22/2011 · Rte. 225, West Groton, MA ID is uncertain

2/18/2012 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, MA
≈ 31 × 46" (78 × 117 cm)

5/18/2013 · Oak Hill, Littleton Conservation Land, Littleton, MA
≈ 31 × 47" (79 × 119 cm)

Range: Zones 3-9:

About this map...