| American beech | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fagales |
| Family: | Fagaceae |
| Genus: | Fagus |
| Species: | F. grandifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Fagus grandifolia | |
 | |
| It is naturally found from eastern Canada to southeastern United States[3] | |
| Synonyms[3] | |
Fagus grandifolia var.typica Rehder | |
Fagus grandifolia, theAmerican beech orNorth American beech, is a species of tree growing to 16–35 meters (52–115 feet) tall. It is one of twobeech species native to North America, the other occurring in Mexico. It flourished over most of the continent prior to thelast ice age, but is now limited to the east. The tree isshade tolerant and found in forests in the final stage ofsuccession.
Thenuts are eaten by animals and humans. The leaves and inner bark can be prepared as well.
Fagus grandifolia is a largedeciduous tree[4] growing to 16–35 meters (52–115 feet) tall,[5] with smooth, silver-graybark. The winter twigs are distinctive among North American trees, being long and slender (15–20 mm or5⁄8–3⁄4 in by2–3 mm or3⁄32–1⁄8 in) with two rows of overlapping scales on the buds. Beech buds are distinctly thin and long, resembling cigars; this characteristic makes beech trees relatively easy to identify.
Theleaves are dark green, yellow below,[5] simple and sparsely toothed with small teeth that terminate each vein, and6–12 centimeters (2+1⁄4–4+3⁄4 inches) long (rarely 15 cm or 6 in), with a shortpetiole.
The tree ismonoecious, with flowers of both sexes on the same tree.[5] Thefruit is a small, sharply anglednut, borne in pairs in a soft-spined, four-lobed husk. It has two means of reproduction: one is through the usual dispersal of seedlings, and the other is through root sprouts, which grow into new trees.[6]
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Trees in the southern half of the range are sometimes distinguished as a variety,F. grandifolia var.caroliniana, but this is not considered distinct by either theFlora of North America or thePlants of the World Online database.[3] The Mexican beech (Fagus mexicana), native to the mountains of easternMexico, is closely related, and was often treated as asubspecies of American beech, but is now classified as a distinct species,[7] following recent research which has shown it differs in genetics, lacking some ancient introgression with EurasianFagus species which is present inF. grandifolia,[8]
F. grandifolia is believed to have spanned the width of the North American continent all the way to the Pacific coast before thelast ice age.[9]
The genus nameFagus isLatin for "beech", and the specific epithetgrandifolia comes fromgrandis "large" andfolium "leaf", in reference to the American beech's larger leaves when compared to theEuropean beech.[10]
The American beech can be found in its extant native region of eastern North America, fromNova Scotia west tosouthern Ontario in southeastern Canada, west toWisconsin and south to easternTexas and northernFlorida in the United States.[3][11] Mature specimens are rare in lowland areas as early settlers quickly discovered that the presence of the tree indicated good farmland.
The American beech is ashade-tolerant species,[5] commonly found in forests in the final stage ofsuccession. Few trees in its natural range other than sugar maple match it for shade tolerance. Ecological succession is essentially the process of forests changing their composition through time; it is a pattern of events often observed on disturbed sites.[12] Although sometimes found in pure stands, it is more often associated withsugar maple (forming thebeech–maple climax community),yellow birch, andeastern hemlock, typically on moist, well-drained slopes and rich bottomlands. Near its southern limit, it often shares canopy dominance withsouthern magnolia. Although it has a reputation for slow growth (sometimes only 13 feet in 20 years), rich soil and ample moisture will greatly speed the process up. American beech favors a well-watered, but also well-drained spot and is intolerant of urban pollution, salt, and soil compaction. It also casts heavy shade and is an extremely thirsty tree with high moisture requirements compared to oaks, so it has a dense, shallow root system.[13]
Themast (crop of nuts) from American beech provides food for numerous species of animals. Amongvertebrates alone, these include various birds[5] including ruffed grouse and wild turkeys, raccoons,[5] foxes,[5] white-tailed deer,[5] rabbits, squirrels,[5] opossums, pheasants, black bears,[5] and porcupines.[5] Beech nuts were one of the primary foods of the now-extinctpassenger pigeon;[5] the clearing of beech andoak forests is pointed to as one of the major factors that may have contributed to the bird's extinction.[14] Some Lepidoptera caterpillars feed on beeches. Deer occasionally browse on beech foliage,[5] but it is not a preferred food.
Beech bark disease has become a major killer of beech trees in the Northeastern U.S. This disease occurs when the European beech scale insect,Cryptococcus fagisuga, attacks the bark, creating a wound that is then infected byNeonectria ditissima orNeonectria faginata, two species offungi. This causes a canker to develop and the tree is eventually killed.[15]
Beech leaf disease is caused by the nematodeLitylenchus crenatae mccannii. It was discovered inOhio in 2012 and identified as far south as Virginia in 2022.[16] Beech leaf disease causes severe damage to the American beech and also to the related European beech.[17]
Thebeech leaf-miner weevil, a species native to Europe, has been identified in North America as a cause of defoliation of American beech trees.[18] American beech trees have small gaps and crevices at the base of their trunks in which the pest overwinter before eventually making their way to the buds of the trees and finally laying eggs on the underside of the leaves.[19] Once hatched, the larvae mine the leaves, causing destruction to the foliage.
Beech blight aphids colonize branches of the tree, but without serious harm to otherwise healthy trees. Below these colonies, deposits ofsooty mold develop caused by the fungusScorias spongiosa growingsaprophytically on thehoneydew the insects exude. This is also harmless to the trees.[20]
Despite their high moisture needs, beeches succumb to flooding easily and their thin bark invites damage from animals, fire, and human activities. Late spring frosts can cause complete defoliation of the tree, although they typically recover by using reserve pools of sugar.[21] The trunks of mature beeches often rot and develop cavities that are used by wildlife for habitation.[22]
American beech is an important tree inforestry.[citation needed] The wood is hard and difficult to cut or split, although at 43 pounds per cubic foot (0.69 g/cm3) it is not exceptionally heavy, and it also rots relatively easily.[citation needed] It is used for a wide variety of purposes, most notablybentwood furniture as beech wood easily bends when steamed.[citation needed] It also makes high quality, long-burning firewood.
It is sometimes planted as an ornamental tree, but even within its native area, it is planted much less often than the European beech. Although American beech can handle hotter climates,[23] its European cousin is faster-growing and more pollution-tolerant, in addition to being easier to propagate.[citation needed]
American beech does not produce significant quantities of nuts until the tree is about 40 years old. Large crops are produced by 60 years. The oldest documented tree is 246 years old.[24] The fruit is a triangle-shaped shell containing 2–3 nuts inside, but many of them do not fill in, especially on solitary trees. Beech nuts are sweet and nutritious,[5] can be eaten raw by wildlife and humans,[25] or can be cooked.[26] They can also be roasted and ground into acoffee substitute.[5]
The leaves are edible when cooked.[5] The inner bark can be dried and pulverized into bread flour as an emergency food.[5]
Like European beech bark, the American beech bark is smooth and uniform, making it an attraction for people to carve names, dates, decorative symbols such as love hearts or gang identifiers, and other material into its surface.[27] One such beech tree inLouisville, Kentucky, in what is now the southern part ofIroquois Park, bore the legend "D. Boone kill a Bar 1803."[28] The beech finally fell over in 1916 during a storm; its age was estimated at around 325 years. Its trunk is now on display atthe Filson Historical Society.
InJohn Steinbeck's novelEast of Eden, a character returns from the Civil War with a wooden leg he carved from beechwood.[29]
Numerous place names in North America are namedBeechwood.
