MASSACHUSETTS FOREST TREES 



BEECH (Fagus atropunicea Sud worth) 



THE Beech is of common occurrence throughout the 

 State, yet it is more abundant in the western sec- 

 tions than the eastern. Its home is on cool rocky slopes. 

 In habit it is a spreading tree with a broad and dense 

 head, usually growing from fifty to sixty feet high and 

 having a diameter of one and one-half 

 to three feet. Not infrequently the 

 stem is without branches for ten to 



BEECH 



Leaves and fruit. One-third natural size. 



BEECH 



Winter twig and buds. 

 One-half natural size. 



twenty feet. The bark on the trunk is smooth and blue- 

 gray in color. It is not to be mistaken for that of any 

 other native tree, except possibly that of the Blue Beech. 

 The winter buds are long and slender and taper 

 slowly to a sharp point. The leaves are simple, alter- 

 nate, oval, from three to five inches in length, coarsely 

 serrate and green on both surfaces. The fruit is a 

 four-valved, prickly bur which encloses a triangular 

 nut. Its wood is hard, strong, tough, perishable and 

 liable to warp. It is employed in the manufacture of 

 some kinds of furniture, for shoe lasts, for the handles 

 of tools and for fuel. 



