1202 



FACTS 



FAG US 



with tht IVG.: stagnate in sl^nder-peduncled pendu- 

 lous heads, appearing at the base of the young shoots; 

 perianth 5-7-lobed; stamens 8-13; pistillate with 3 

 styles, usually 2 in an axillary peduncled involucre: fr. 

 a brown, ovate, triangled nut, 1 or 2 in a prickly, dehis- 

 cent involucre. Eight 

 species occur in the cooler 

 regions of the northern 

 hemisphere. The species 

 of the southern hemis- 

 phere, often included 

 under Fagus (as F. betu- 

 loides and others), form 

 the genus Nothofagus, 

 which see. 



The beeches are tall 

 deciduous hardy trees, of 

 noble, symmetrical habit, 

 with smooth light gray 

 bark and clean dark green 

 foliage, which is rarely 

 attacked by insects or 

 fungi. They are among 

 the most ornamental and 

 beautiful trees for park 

 planting, and attractive 

 at every season, especially 

 in spring, with the young 

 foliage of a tender deli- 

 cate green, and the grace- 

 ful, drooping heads of the 

 staminate flowers. All of 

 the eight species known, 

 save one, are in cultiva- 

 tion and differ compara- 

 tively little from each 

 other. The American and 

 the European species are 

 especially much alike, but 

 the first has the bark of a lighter color, the head is 

 broader and more roundish, and the leaves less shin- 

 ing, turning clear yellow in fall, while the latter has 

 a more ovate head and shining foliage, which turns 

 reddish brown in fall and remains on the branches 

 almost through the whole winter. It is sometimes used 

 for tall hedges. In Europe, the beech is a very impor- 

 tant forest tree, and the hard and very close-grained 

 wood is largely used in the manufacture of different 

 articles and for fuel; but it is not very durable in the 

 soil. The sweet nuts are edible, and in Europe an oil 

 is pressed from them, used for cooking and other 

 purposes. 



1473. Fagopyrum tataricum. 



1474. Fagus grandifolia. 



(XH) 



The beech prefers dryish situations, and grows best 

 in sandy loam and in limestone soil. Propagated by 

 seeds sown in fall where there is no danger of their 

 being eaten by mice, or dried after gathering and kept 

 mixed with dry sand until spring. The young plants 

 should be transplanted every second or third year; 

 otherwise they make long tap-roots, and cannot always 

 be transplanted successfully. The varieties are grafted 

 on seedling stock, usually in the greenhouse in early 

 spring; grafting in the open usually gives not very 

 satisfactory results. 



Both in Europe and the eastern United States the 

 beech forms extensive forests. It is today the common 

 hardwood tree of central Europe, particularly in Den- 

 mark and Germany, raised as pure growth or mixture. 

 It requires a loamy, preferably calcareous soil, shuns 

 poor sand and swamp," ascends to 3,500 feet in the 

 Alps; prefers north and east exposures, endures much 

 shade, protects and improves the soil, and produces 

 large amounts of wood to the acre. The wood is heavy 

 (specific gravity 0.65 to 0.75) hard, straight-grained, of 

 close texture, not durable. Beech is not used as build- 

 ing lumber, but is extensively used for ordinary wooden 

 ware, furniture, wheelwright and cooperage stock. 

 (F. Roth.) 



grandifdlia, Ehrh. (F. ferruginea, Ait. F. americana, 

 Sweet. F. atropunicea, Sudw.). AMERICAN BEECH. 

 Figs. 1474, 1475. Tree, 

 to 80 ft., rarely 120 ft.: 

 Ivs. ovate-oblong, acumi- 

 nate, coarsely serrate, silky 

 beneath when young, with 

 9-14 pairs of veins, dark 

 bluish green above, light 

 yellowish green beneath, 

 2%-5 in. long: involucre 

 covered with slender, 

 straight or recurved prick- 

 les, %in. 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- 

 tundifolia, 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. 111. to Fla. and Texas. 



sylvatica, Linn. EUROPEAN BEECH. Fig. 1475. 

 Tree, to 80 ft., or rarely 100 ft.: Ivs. ovate or elliptic, 

 remotely denticulate, silky beneath and ciliate when 

 young, with 5-9 pairs of veins, dark green and glossy 

 above, pale beneath, 2-4 in. long: involucre with mostly 

 upright prickles, about 1 in. high. Cent, and S. Eu. to 

 Caucasus. M.D.G. 1902:579-582. H.W. 2:20, pp. 42, 

 43. F.E. 33:615. Fig. 1475 contrasts the Ivs. 

 of the American and European species. A great 

 number of varieties are in cult., of which the 

 following are the most remarkable: Var. pen- 

 dula, Lodd. Fig. 1476. With long, pendulous 

 branches, the larger limbs mostly horizontally 

 spreading. G.C. III. 51:114. G.W. 15, p. 662. B.H. 

 1907, p. 393. Gn. 42, p. 65; 55, p. 267; 64, p. 167. 

 G.F. 1:32 (adapted in Fig. 1476). Gng. 6:258. G.W. 

 2, p. 15; 9, p. 510; 15, p. 663. G.M. 52:807. Var. 

 tortudsa, Dipp. (var. suenteliensis, Hort.). Dwarf 

 form, with twisted and contorted branches and small 

 Ivs. M.D.G. 1912:110. Var. pyramidalis, Kirchn. Of 

 pyramidal habit. Var. purpfcrea, Ait. (var. atropur- 

 purea, Hort.). Fig. 1477. Lvs. purple. M.D.G. 1901: 



1475. Fagus grandifolia (left), 

 and F. sylvatica. ( X 1 A) 



