The Trees of Vermont 107 



FAGACEAE 



Beech 



Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. [Fagus atropunicea (Marsh.) Sudw.] 

 [Fagus ferruginea Ait.] [Fagus americana Sweet] 



Habit. — A beautiful tree, rising commonly to a height of 50-75 

 feet, with a trunk diameter of 2-4 feet; in the forest, tall and slender, 

 with short branches forming a narrow crown, in the open with a short, 

 thick trunk and numerous slender, spreading branches, forming a 

 broad, compact, rounded crown. 



Leaves. — Alternate, simple, 3-5 inches long, one-half as broad ; 

 oblong-ovate, acuminate ; coarsely serrate, a vein terminating iS each 

 tooth ; thin ; dark blue-green above, light yellow-green and very lustrous 

 beneath ; petioles short, hairy. 



Flowers. — May, with the leaves ; monoecious ; the staminate in 

 globose heads 1 inch in diameter, on long, slender, hairy peduncles, 

 yellow-green ; calyx campanulate, 4-7-lobed, hairy ; corolla ; stamens 

 8-10; the pistillate on short, hairy peduncles in 2-flowered clusters 

 surrounded by numerous awl-shaped, hairy bracts ; calyx urn-shaped, 

 4-5-lobed ; corolla 0; ovary 3-celled ; styles 3. 



Fruit. — Ripens in autumn ; a prickly bur borne on stout, hairy 

 peduncles, persistent on the branch af-ter the nuts have fallen; nuts 

 usually 3, ^ inch long, sharply tetrahedral, brownish ; sweet and edible. 



Winter-buds. — Nearly 1 inch long, very slender, cylindrical, grad- 

 ually taper-pointed, brownish, puberulous. 



Bark. — Twigs lustrous, olive-green, finally changing through 

 brown to ashy gray ; close, smooth, steel-gray on the trunk, often mot- 

 tled by darker blotches and bands. Plate IV. 



Wood. — Hard, tough, strong, very close-grained, not durable, 

 difficult to season, light or dark red, with thin, whitish sapwood. Page 

 227. 



Distribution. — Abundant throughout Vermont. 



Habitat. — Rich uplands ; moist, rocky soil. 



Notes. — The beech, when growing in the forest, with its tall, 

 graceful trunk, its smooth, gray bark and shiny leaves, is a handsome 

 tree. It is not only one of the most common trees in Vermont, but also 

 one of the most widely distributed in eastern North America. The 

 drooping clusters of pollen-bearing flowers and the short, stout ovule - 

 bearing heads open under the newly spreading leaves in early May. 

 Hie burs open and the nuts fall with the first frosts of autumn. 



