|
| Name |
Ornamental
- Fagus Sylvatica - European Beech, Common Beech |
| Cultivation |
Thrives on a light or medium soil, doing well on chalk, but not adapted
for a heavy wet soil. Prefers a calcareous soil but succeeds in acid soils
though it does not make such a fine tree in such a situation. Succeeds in
almost any soil and any pH, it is also very tolerant of a wide range of
climatic conditions so long as there is sufficient rainfall. Established
trees are drought tolerant. Very wind tolerant but dislikes salt. Trees
are shallow rooted and this might make them less wind resistant.
Trees have two growth periods a year, each of about 3 weeks in duration.
The first is in spring around the end of April, the second is in summer,
around the end of July.
Trees are often slow growing and also can be very slow to establish after
transplanting. However, in good conditions they are capable of growing up
to a metre in a year.
Young trees are very shade tolerant, but are subject to frost damage to
their flowers and young leaves and so are best grown in a woodland position
which will protect them.
An important food plant for many caterpillars, it has 64 species of associated
insects.
Trees have a heavy canopy and cast a dense shade, very few other species
can grow in a dense beech wood and on suitable soils it becomes the dominant
species.
Very intolerant of coppicing, trees producing none or only very weak growth
afterwards and this is soon smothered by other plants. Plants are very tolerant
of light pruning however and if this is carried out in late summer the plants
will retain their dead leaves over winter.
There are many named forms selected for their ornamental value. Those forms
with purple leaves prefer a position in full sun whilst forms with yellow
leaves prefer some shade.
This species is notably resistant to honey fungus. |
| Family |
|
| Genus |
|
| Synonyms |
|
| Known
Hazards |
|
| Range |
European
beech responds well to heavy pruning and is widely grown in hedges throughout
the British Isles. |
| Height |
The
European beech is a large deciduous tree and most specimens in cultivation
are 40-60 ft tall with a spread of 30-40 ft . |
| Habitat |
European
beech is best suited as a specimen or shade tree for parks, golf courses,
estates and larger home landscapes. Use this species in areas with cool,
wet summers and select the American beech where summers are hotter. Beech
trees are not tolerant of salt, and they can be killed by de-icing salts
used on roads. |
| Characteristics |
European
beech is the most popular of the beeches in cultivation. It is definitely
among the grandest of specimen trees. As a shade tree for large lawns it
has no peers. European beech has a rounded spreading crown and often branches
close to the ground. European beech has smooth gray bark and toothed, elliptic
leaves, 2-4 in long. The foliage of European beech is shiny dark green,
turning rich golden copper in autumn. The fruits are 1 in woody capsules
covered with soft spines. At maturity, they split open in four sections
to reveal two oily triangular beechnuts. . It is hardy in Britain and Ireland.
It is in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen from September to
October. |
| Edible
Uses |
Coffee;
Leaves; Oil; Seed.
Young leaves - raw. A very nice mild flavour, they go well in a mixed salad.
However, the leaves quickly become tough so only the youngest should be
used. New growth is usually produced for 2 periods of 3 weeks each year,
one in spring and one in mid-summer.
Seed - raw or cooked. A pleasant sweet flavour, though rather small and
fiddly. The seed can also be dried and ground into a powder and then used
with cereal flours when making bread, cakes etc. The seed is rich in oil.
The seed should not be eaten in large quantities because it contains a deleterious
principle.
The seed contains 17 - 20% of an edible semi-drying oil. This stores well
without going rancid and is said to be equal in delicacy to olive oil. It
is used as a dressing for salads and also for cooking. The seed residue
is poisonous.
The roasted seed is used as a coffee substitute. |
| Medicinal
Uses |
None
Known |
| Other
Uses |
It
is noted for attracting wildlife. |
| Propagation |
Seed
- the seed has a short viability and is best sown as soon as it is ripe
in the autumn in a cold frame. Protect the seed from mice. Germination takes
place in the spring. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings
out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least
their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late
spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. The seedlings are
slow growing for the first few years and are very susceptible to damage
by late frosts.
The seed can also be sown in an outdoor seedbed in the autumn. The seedlings
can be left in the open ground for three years before transplanting, but
do best if put into their final positions as soon as possible and given
some protection from spring frosts. |
| Cultivars |
More
than 30 cultivars have been selected for their form, leaf shape and autumn
color. 'Aspleniifolia' (fern-leaved beech or cut-leaved beech) has narrow
leaves that are dissected, fernlike, into narrow lobes. 'Pendula' (weeping
beech) is a very weird and spectacular plant with drooping branches that
reach all the way to the ground. Several forms have purplish leaves and
these are usually classified as forma purpurea, or purple beeches. 'Dawyck'
has a narrow columnar form and purple foliage. |
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