42 



ILLINOIS NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY CIRCULAR 51 



Fig. 43.— The slow- 

 growing American 

 beecli is a large tree 

 with conspicuous 

 light gray, smooth 

 bark and egg-shaped 

 to somewhat oblong, 

 thin, leathery leaves 

 (inset). 



sharply and coarsely toothed, dull green above and pale green 

 and shiny beneath. The yellowish-green, drooping, globe-shaped 

 clusters of male flowers, and the female flowers in pairs sur- 

 rounded by numerous pointed scales, are produced separately on 

 the same tree. Each fruit is a %-inch, short-stalked, prickly bur 

 which splits into four parts to liberate two small, shiny, brown, 

 three-sided, sweet, edible nuts. The thin, smooth, light blue-gray 

 bark is often mottled with dark spots. Beech is a slow-growing 

 tree that is difficult to transplant. 



The ornamental forms of the introduced European beech 

 (F. sylvatica) will grow under more variable environmental 

 conditions. The purple or copper form (Fig. 44) is prized for its 

 foliage color and for its silhouette in winter. The columnar form 

 (Fig. 45) is used for accent purposes. It has no objectionable 

 flowers or seeds, and its foliage is light yellow in autumn. 



Beech is relatively free of diseases and insect pests. Occa- 

 sionally it is injured by application of fertilizer. To prevent such 

 injury, apply only half of the amount of fertilizer commonly rec- 

 ommended for trees. 



The hard, close-grained wood of the American beech, with 



