Fagus grandifolia


Foliage, Fagus grandifolia


Plant Characteristics
Habit   tree

Height: 80 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 80.
Width: 35 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 35.
Lifespan: perennial
Cultivation
Exposure: sun
Features: deciduous
USDA Zones: 4 to 8
Scientific Names

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The Fagus grandifolia also known as American Beech is a species of beech native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario in southeastern Canada, west to Wisconsin and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida in the United States. Trees in the southern half of the range are sometimes distinguished as a variety, F. grandifolia var. caroliniana, but this is not considered distinct in the Flora of North America. A related beech native to the mountains of central Mexico is sometimes treated as a subspecies of American Beech, but more often as a distinct species, Mexican Beech Fagus mexicana.

It is a deciduous tree growing to 20 - 35 m tall, with smooth, silver-gray bark. The leaves are dark green, simple and sparsely-toothed with small teeth, 6 - 12 cm long (rarely 15 cm ), with a short petiole. The winter twigs are distinctive among North American trees, being long and slender (15 - 20 mm by 2 - 3 mm) with two rows of overlapping scales on the buds. The tree is monoecious, with flowers of both sexes on the same tree. The fruit is a small, sharply-angled nut, borne in pairs in a soft-spined, four-lobed husk.

The American Beech is a shade-tolerant species, favoring shade more than other trees, commonly found in forests in the final stage of succession. Although sometimes found in pure stands, it is more often associated with Sugar Maple (forming the Beech-Maple climax community), Yellow Birch, and Eastern Hemlock, typically on moist well drained slopes and rich bottomlands. Near its southern limit, it often shares canopy dominance with Southern Magnolia.


Read about Fagus grandifolia in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Fagus grandifolia, Ehrh. (F. ferruginea, Ait. F. americana, Sweet. F. atropunicca, Sudw.). American Beech. Tree, to 80 ft., rarely 120 ft.: lvs. ovate-oblong, acuminate, coarsely serrate, silky beneath when young, with 9-14 pairs of veins, dark bluish green above, light yellowish green beneath, 2 1/2-5 in. long: involucre covered with slender, straight or recurved prickles, 3/4in. high. E. N. Amer., west to Wis. and Texas. Var. pubescens, Fern. & Rehd. Lvs. soft-pubescent below, sometimes only slightly so.

Var. caroliniana Fern. Rehd. (F. ferruginea var. caroliniana, Loud. F. ro-tundifdlia, Raf.). lvs. broader, of firmer texture, darker above: involucre rufous-tomentose, with fewer and shorter prickles: nut smaller, not exceeding the involucre. From N. J. and S. Ill. to Fla. and Texas. CH


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.


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Propagation

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Pests and diseases

Beech Bark Disease has become a major killer of Beeches in the Northeastern United States.

Species

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