BETULACEAE 107 



the commonest shrul) in the state. It seems to avoid the richest 

 and poorest soils, and extremes of lime, mud and sand. It is rare 

 in regions lA and IB, and not recorded from !), 14 and 15. On a 

 trip down the Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers from Tusculoosa to 

 Jackson in 1908 I did not see it at all after passing out of the 

 Cretaceous regions. (See Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 3T:11T. 1!)10.) 



CUPULIFERAE (or FAGACEAE). Oak Family. 



About 6 genera and (JOl) species, mostly trees, and mostly in 

 the north temperate zone. Chiefly valuable for their wood, but 

 some have edible nuts, and some yield dye, tanning materials, cork, 

 etc., and many are cultivated for shade or ornament. 



FAGUS, Linnaeus. The Beeches. 

 Fagus grandifolia, Hhrh. (F. fcrntgiiica Ait., F. Aincriccnia 

 Sweet. F. atropnnicca Sudw.) (American) Beech. 



(Fig. 2T) 



(Our tree is supposed to differ a little from the northern one, 

 and it has been named var. Caroliiiiaiia by Fernald and Rehder, but 

 the supposed differences are not conspicuous.) 



A well-known medium-sized to large tree, with trunk strictly 

 erect, and often two or three feet in diameter. The bark is smooth 

 and gray, never furrowed, and near towns it is often hard to find 

 trees without initials cut in them. It makes a fine lawn and park 

 tree, and some of the largest specimens are found around old 

 country estates. The wood is hard and strong, but difficult to 

 season and not very durable, so that its uses are limited. It is 

 very little used in Alabama, but elsewhere it is said to be used for 

 boxes, wheelbarrows, pump-handles, saw handles, brush handles, 

 chairs, planes, bol)l)ins, clothes-pins, faucets, blocks for half-tone 

 plates, mouse-traps, shoe-lasts, and sometimes flooring. The bark 

 and leaves are medicinal, but not officinal. The bark has also been 

 used to some extent for tanning. The nuts are edible, but in most 

 years the greater part of the crop seems to be sterile and empty. 

 An oil can be extracted from them. 



References : Maxwell. 



The beech grows in ravines, hammocks, bluffs and bottoms, 

 mostly in non-calcareous soil, protected from fire, and nearly al- 

 ways in virgin forests with plenty of humus. Its exact habitat 



