94 



Winter buds long and slender, at least 4 times as long as -vride; 

 staminate flowers in globose heads on drooping peduncles; 



nuts shar]}ly 3-angled 1 Fagus. 



Winter buds not long and slender and less than -4 times as 

 long as T\dde; staminate flowers in slender catkins; nuts 

 not as above. 

 Staminate catkins erect or spreading; nut flattened on one 



side and enclosed in a spiny, woody husk 2 Castanea. 



Staminate catkins drooping; nuts not flattened on one side, 



seated in a sc-aly, ^\-oody cup 3 Quercus. 



1. FAGUS. The Beech. 



Fagus graiidifolia Ehrhart. Beech. Plato 38. Large tall trees 

 with bark from light to dark gray; twigs denscl}' covered at first with 

 long hairs, soon becoming glabrous and tm-ning to a reddish-brown; 

 terminal winter Inids alxjut 2 cm. long; leaves ovate to ovate-olilong, 

 long ta]3er-i)ointed to nierel}^ acute, wedge-shaiie to cordate at base, 

 regulai'ly and usually minutely serrate, average blades 7-12 cm. long, 

 silky when young, becoming at maturity glabrous above and nearly 

 so beneath except on the veins; flowers appear in May; fruit a bur, 

 supported on a club-shaped pubescent penduncle about 1.5 cm. long, 

 covered with shoi't recurved prickles, densely rufous-pubescent, its 4- 

 valves enclosing the two triangular brown nuts; nuts edible; wood very 

 hard, sti'ong, usually tough, difficult to season, close-grained, takes a 

 high polish, sap wood white, heart wood reddish. 



Di.siribii lion. — Nova. Scotia, southern Ontario to Wisconsin, sotith 

 to the (iulf States and Texas. It is found in evei-y county of the State, 

 although it is local in the pi-airie and dry sandy regions of the north- 

 western ]iart of the State. It is a fi(>fiuent to a very common tree on the 

 high ground in many parts of the State. If the high ground and hills 

 of the State ar(> not forested with white and l)hick oak, beech is almost 

 certain to be the jirevailing species. Wherever beech is found it is 

 usually a fi'cciuent to a common tree, and it is not uncommon to see 

 areas which are almost a pui'c stand of this species. It is also a fre- 

 quent to a common tree hi southern Indiana in what is called the 

 "flats." Here i1 is associated with sweet gum and pin oak. On the 

 slopes of hills of the southern counties it is associated with a great 

 variety of trees. In the central part of the State its most frequent 

 associate is the sugar maple. In the northern counties it has a wider 

 range of associates, inc^luding white oak, ash, sliiapery elm, buckej^e, 

 ironwood, etc. It should be added that tulip is a constant associate 

 except in the "flats." In point of number it ranks as first of Indiana 

 trees. 



