American Beech

Latin name: Fagus grandifolia

Etymology: The genus name Fagus means ‘beech’ in Latin and may have been derived from the Greek word for ‘eat’ (phagein), as beech fruit were used as food for agricultural animals in ancient Europe. The species name comes from the Latin words for ‘large’ (grandis) and ‘leaf’ (folium) as its leaves are larger compared to those of the European Beech.

Family: Fagaceae (Beeches) 

Origin: Eastern North America and Mexico

Native habitats: Dry-mesic to mesic, deciduous or mixed evergreen-deciduous forests.

You’ll see the smooth, light gray elephant-skin bark of beech throughout Herrontown Woods. In winter, look for the long, coppery buds and the light brown leaves that remain on the trees until spring. Beech trees are clonal, meaning they sprout new stems from their roots, so adjacent beech trees may well be linked underground. Beech, oaks, and chestnuts are all in the same family, Fagaceae.

Description: American Beeches have a height of between 60-120 feet and a diameter of 2-4 feet. Leaves are egg-shaped or elliptic and with small, coarse teeth. They are dark-green and glossy and measure between 1-5 inches. The bark is distinctively smooth and gray, also when mature. Twigs are hairless with long and pointed, many-scaled buds. Flowers are indistinct, greenish-white and appear between March and May. Fruits are small, triangular nuts that are borne in pairs in a soft-spined, four-lobed husk and can be found between September and October. 

Similar species: Several oaks have similar leaves, but their buds and leaves are clustered at their twig; tips. Chestnut has more elongate leaves and shorter, stouter buds.

Wildlife Value: American Beech is one of the main hosts for the larvae of the rare Early Hairstreak Butterfly. The protein-rich beech nuts are an important food for mammals, particularly black bears, squirrels and chipmunks.

Uses: American Beech was used by many native American tribes to treat a variety of ailments or for food. Early settlers extracted oil from the beech nuts which was used as both food and lamp oil.

The wood is used for cheap furniture and parts of the tree are edible, e.g. young leaves in a salad, roasted beechnuts as a coffee substitute, dried and ground bark or seeds for baking. Raw seeds should not be eaten in large quantities.