of New York 



63 



BEECH 



Fagus grandifolia, Ehrhart 



NO hardwood tree is more beautiful or more easily recog- 

 nized than the American Beech. 

 The leaves are simple, alternate, 3 to 4 inches long, pointed 

 at tip, wedge-shaped at base, coarsely-toothed along margin. 

 When mature they are stiff, leathery, with straight, sunken 

 veins. 



BEECH 

 One-half natural size. 



The flowers arc of two kinds, appear about April. The 

 pollen-bearing occur in stalked round heads; the nut-pro- 

 ducing in a few-flowered clusters. 



The fruit is a stalked, prickly, four-valved bur, usually 

 produced in pairs, containing triangular, pale brown, shining 

 nutlets with sweet kernel. 



The bark is smooth, light gray, often marked with initial 

 carvings. The twigs are slender, dark gray, marked with 

 circle of bud-scale scars. The buds are alternate, slender, 

 conical, sharp-pointed, % of an inch long, 5 times as long as 

 wide, covered with 10 to 20 reddish-brpwn scales. 



The wood is very hard, strong, toughs not durable in con- 

 tact with soil. It is an excellent fuelwood, and is used exten- 

 sively in the manufacture of charcoal, chemicals, novelties. 



The Beech is found from Nova Scotia to Wisconsin and 

 south to Florida and Texas. This tree is common through- 

 out New York except in the pine barrens of Long Island. 

 The beech trees one usually sees about our cities are the Euro- 

 pean Beech (Fagus sylvatica, Linnaeus) .. which is the parent 

 of the Purple or Copper Beech, the Weeping Beechj and the 

 Cut-leaved Beech. 



