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|genus=Fagus
|genus=Fagus
|species=grandifolia
|species=grandifolia
|taxo_author=Ehrh.
|common_name=American Beech
|habit=tree
|habit=tree
|habit_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|habit_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|exposure=sun
|exposure=sun
|sun_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|sun_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|features=deciduous
|Temp Metric=°F
|Temp Metric=°F
|min_zone=4
|min_zone=4
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia ISBN 0881925381
|max_zone=8
|max_zone=8
|image=Upload.png
|image=Fagus grandifolia foliage.jpg
|image_width=240
|image_width=240
|image_caption=Foliage, ''Fagus grandifolia''
}}
}}
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|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''.
| common_names = <!--- if multiple, list all, if none, leave blank -->
It is a [[deciduous]] [[tree]] growing to {{convert|20|-|35|m|abbr=on}} tall, with smooth, silver-gray [[bark]]. The [[leaf|leaves]] are dark green, simple and sparsely-toothed with small teeth, {{convert|6|-|12|cm|abbr=on}} long (rarely {{convert|15|cm}}), with a short [[Petiole (botany)|petiole]]. The winter twigs are distinctive among North American trees, being long and slender ({{convert|15|-|20|mm|abbr=on}} by {{convert|2|-|3|mm|abbr=on}}) with two rows of overlapping scales on the buds. The tree is [[plant sexuality|monoecious]], with flowers of both sexes on the same tree. The [[fruit]] is a small, sharply-angled [[nut (fruit)|nut]], borne in pairs in a soft-spined, four-lobed husk.
| high = ? <!--- 1m (3 ft) -->
The American Beech is a shade-tolerant species, favoring shade more than other trees, commonly found in forests in the final stage of [[Ecological_succession|succession]]. Although sometimes found in pure stands, it is more often associated with [[Sugar Maple]] (forming the [[Beech-maple forest|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 [[Magnolia grandiflora|Southern Magnolia]].
| wide = <!--- 65cm (25 inches) -->
| origin = ? <!--- Mexico, S America, S Europe, garden, etc -->
| poisonous = <!--- indicate parts of plants which are known/thought to be poisonous -->
| lifespan = <!--- perennial, annual, etc -->
| exposure = ? <!--- full sun, part-sun, semi-shade, shade, indoors, bright filtered (you may list more than 1) -->
| water = ? <!--- frequent, regular, moderate, drought tolerant, let dry then soak -->
| features = <!--- flowers, fragrance, fruit, naturalizes, invasive -->
| usda_zones = ? <!--- eg. 8-11 -->
| image_caption = <!--- eg. Cultivated freesias -->
{{Inc|
{{Inc|
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.
Fagus grandifolia, Ehrh. (F. ferruginea, Ait. F. americana, Sweet. F. atropunicca, Sudw.). American Beech. Figs. 1474, 1475. 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. S.S. 9:444. Em. 182. G.F. 8:125. A.G. 12:711. F.E.20:586. 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.
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.
===Pests and diseases===
===Pests and diseases===
[[Beech Bark Disease]] has become a major killer of Beeches in the Northeastern United States.
==Species==
==Species==
<gallery>
<gallery>
Image:Upload.png| photo 1
Image:07-03AmericanBeechFL.jpg|American Beech, ''Fagus grandifolia'', Gadsden Co., [[Florida]]
Image:Upload.png| photo 2
Image:IN Hoot Woods.jpg|American Beech forest at Hoot Woods, [[Indiana]]; note fall color and silvery trunks
Image:Upload.png| photo 3
Image:Fagus grandifolia.jpg|American Beech trunk
Image:Fagus grandifolia CT1.jpg|American Beech in winter, [[Cap Tourmente|Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area]], Quebec
Image:Fagus grandifolia CT3.jpg|American Beech sometimes keep its leaves in winter, [[Cap Tourmente|Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area]], Quebec
</gallery>
</gallery>
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