II. 2. THE BEECH. 159 



numerous, and irregular ; the branchlets various, every second 

 or third larger than the others ; the spray short and distant, mak- 

 ing sharp angles, slender and tapering to a point, with shining, 

 deep purple bark, or of a beautiful chestnut red, indistinctly 

 dotted with brown. The older branches become grayish, and 

 gradually assume the blue gray of the trunk. On small trees, 

 the bark is of a light, polished leaden gray. The tree has its 

 finest shape when growing in an open forest, which has been 

 made so by gradual clearing. It then unites magnificent height 

 with great amplitude and length of head. 



In an old tree the bark is rarely seen. But every part is 

 usually covered with thin, membranaceous lichens, {Lccano?*as, 

 Lecideas, letter-like Opegraphas^) in clouds of every shade of 

 white, gray, and brown, outside, which are often large patches 

 of gray, yellow, and sulphur-colored foliaceous lichens, (Pw- 

 melias). Near the bottom, when growing in the forest, it is 

 pencilled with delicate, threadlike, branching jungermannias, 

 and about its base, has tufts of green and purple mosses. 



In winter, it is distinguishable by its long, spindle-shaped, 

 pointed buds. 



From the density of the shade, from the slowness of the 

 decay of the leaves, and from the fact that the roots run near 

 the surface, few herbaceous plants are found beneath the beech. 

 From these roots, however, young trees are often seen to spring, 

 and this seems to be one of the ways in which the beech is prop- 

 agated. When a tree is felled, the trunk throws out a profu- 

 sion of shoots, which flourish for a year or two and then perish. 

 The leaves, on these shoots, are usually of a rich crimson color. 



The leaves, on old, fruit-bearing limbs, are in stars of four or 

 five, at the ends of the branchlets. On the growing shoots, they 

 are alternate, often inequilateral, on short, often hairy petioles, 

 which grow from the under side of a branch and bend upwards. 

 They are broad, lanceolate, narrowed below and somewhat 

 heart-shaped, acuminate ; the nerves parallel, never branched, 

 ending in a single, large tooth. The surface is polished and 

 shining, lighter beneath and hairy while young; texture thin 

 and membranaceous. The leaves come out late, but often re- 

 main on the tree through the winter. The stipules are very 

 long, slender, delicate and very transient. 



