﻿Trees of Neiv York State 171 



FAGAGEAE 



Pagus grandifolia Elali. [Fagus americaua Sweet; Fagus atropunicea (Marsh) 

 Slid.; Fagus ferruginea Ait.] 



Beech 



Habit — A tree under optimum conditions sometimes 120 feet in height, usu- 

 ally 60-80 feet in height with a trunk 2-4 feet in diameter. Crown com- 

 pact and narrow under forest conditions, bonie aloft on a long, straight, 

 columnar bole. In the open the trunk is short and thick and breaks up 

 a few feet above the ground into numerous spreading limbs and slender, 

 somewhat drooping branches, forming a broad, round-topped head. 

 Spreads by root suckers. 



Leaves — Alternate, oblong-ovate, 2^,^-5 inches long, 1-3 inches wide, acu- 

 minate at the apex, cimeate or rounded at the base, sharply serrate with 

 rather distant teeth, at maturity thin, coriaceous, smooth and dull green 

 above, pale green and lustrous beneath, with tufts of hairs in the axils 

 of the prominent rib-like sccondar}- viens, borne on short, terete, heavy 

 petioles about i/4 of an inch long. 



Flowers — Appearing in April or May when the leaves are about one-third 

 grown, monoecious. Staminate flowers in many-fl^owered, drooping, globose 

 heads wliich are 1 inch in diameter and are borne on slender, scaly ped- 

 uncles about 2 inches long arising from the axils of the inner bud-scales 

 or of the lower leaves. Calyx nairowly campanulate, pale hairy without, 

 ■i-8-lobed, borne on a short peduncle. Stamens 8-10, ^^ith pale green 

 anthers and slender filaments, the filaments about twice the length of the 

 calyx. Pistillate flowers in clusters of 2 on short, clavate, woolly ped- 

 uncles from the upper leaf-axils, the cluster surrounded by an involucre 

 of accrescent scales clothed i\ith long wldte hairs and subtended by several 

 deciduous, pink bracts. Calyx hairy, adnate to the ovary, with 4-5 linear 

 lobes. Pistil consisting of a trigonous, 3-celled ovaiy surmounted by 3 

 slender, reflexed styles stigmatic on the inner surface. 



i'ruit — A stalked, prickly, thick-walled, ovoid bur, about % of an inch long, 

 opening in the autumn by 4 valves to set free the 2 trigonous, lustrous 

 brown nuts. Kernel sweet, edible. 



Winter characters — Twigs slender, zigzag, wiry, orange-lenticellate, smooth, 

 lustrous, bright reddish brown, at length dark bro^Ti turning to ashy 

 gray, vrith tardily deciduous leaves. Buds narrowly conical, sharp- 

 pointed, strongly divergent, %-l inch long, covered by numerous, thin, 

 lustrous, pale chestnut-brown scales Avith hairy margins. Mature bark 

 thin, close, smooth, dull light gray, often mottled with dark spots. 



Habitat — A tolerant species preferring rich, moist uplands in admixture 

 with Hard Maple, Yellow Bii-ch, Hornbeam, Hemlock, etc. In the south 

 occurring on moist bottom-lands and the borders of swamps. 



Range — Nova Scotia through southern Ontario to Wisconsin, south to 

 Florida and Texas. Zones B, C, and D. 



Uses — A timber species producing a hard, strong, tough, close-grained wood 

 which is susceptible of high polish but difficult to season and not durable 

 in contact with the soil. Heartwood light or dark red; sapwood nearly 

 wiiite. The wood is used for cheap furniture, tool handles, basketry (as 

 veneer), and largely in the rural districts for fuel. The tree is to be 

 recommended ornamentally because of its striking appearance, especially 

 during the winter months. The m\U r.ccnsionally appear in the eastern 

 markets. 



