TREES OF NORTH CAROLINA 37 



BEECH FAMILY 

 (FAGACEAE) 



40. Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. Beech. 



A tree of rich low woods, mostly along brooks and 

 creeks, with the light, smooth bark usually marked 

 with initials, hearts and dates; buds slender, sharp 

 pointed; fruit nearly globular, with short slender 

 prickles, containing one or two small, angular, shin- 

 ing nuts. It extends from the coast to the tops of 

 the high mountains, reaching its greatest size in the 

 rich mountain valleys. It is practically absent in the 

 Sand Hill region. The coastal form is separated in 

 Gray's Manual, Yth ed., as var. caroliniana (Land.) 

 Fernald & Eehder. Date of flowering: April 31, 

 1903. Examples: trees along Battle's branch. 



41. Castanea dentata (Marsh) Borkh; Chestnut. 



A large forest tree of the mountains and hills with 

 the large nuts borne two or three together in a prickly 

 burr; leaves smooth beneath. The chestnut is 

 common in the mountains and is scattered over the 

 western half of the middle section as far east as 

 Guilford and Randloph. Flowers in summer. The 

 wood is durable and is used for cross-ties, posts, 

 and for inferior furniture. The chestnut blight, a 

 virulent disease that has practically destroyed the 

 chestnuts of the northern states, has not yet reached 

 us, but is apt to do so at any time as it is reported 

 from southern Virginia. 



