THE EUROPEAN BEECH 



Beech but it is not out of place to say a word or two 

 about the other species. They all have the same 

 general appearance and cannot be mistaken for any 

 other tree. All have the same sort of thin, firm, 

 smooth, light gray bark; and the leafage, and the 

 character of the branches and their disposition is 

 much the same. They differ one from another in the 

 shape and character of their fruits and in the habit of 

 the bole. In the Common Beech the bole or trunk is 

 single, and this obtains in one Japanese (F. japonica) 

 and one Chinese species (F. lucida). In another 

 Japanese species (F. Sieboldii) and in the Chinese 

 F. Engleriana the trunk divides at or near the base 

 into few or many stems. In the Dagelet Island F. 

 multinervis and the Chinese F. longipetiolata the 

 trunk is usually single, but often divides near the 

 base into several stems. The habit of the rare For- 

 mosan Beech (F. Hayatae) is unknown, also that of 

 the Caucasian F. orientalis, though from an account 

 I have read of the latter it would appear to have 

 many stems like the Japanese F. Sieboldii and the 

 Chinese F. Engleriana. The American Beech (F. 

 grandijolia) exhibits even greater diversity in habit. 

 Normally it has a solitary trunk, but in pastures 

 and places where the roots get near the surface, and 

 are consequently exposed and damaged, a multitude 

 of suckers (sprouts) are developed which grow into 

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