1906 
SEPTEMBER, 
Foliage of the common cut-leaved beech. Fagus syi- 
vatica, var. incisa. One of the best forms 
The very finely cut leaves of the fern-leaved beech 
(F. sylvatica, var. heterophylla) 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
ornamental trees the many forms of the latter 
species far outnumber those of the native. 
DISTINCTIONS IN BARK AND LEAL 
The two species are most easily distin- 
guished by the differences of the bark. In 
the American beech it is a beautiful, pale 
blue-gray on the trunk and lower branches, 
but on the upper parts of the tree it is a 
granite gray, that flashes out almost white 
against the blue of a winter sky. There is 
none of this brightness in the dull dark 
Quincy granite gray of the European species. 
The smooth surface of the bark, which 
carries the sunlight in drifts of silvery sheen, 
lends one of the special charms of the beech. 
No other tree gives such rich, splashing 
effects of sunshine and shade. The smaller 
branches of the American beech are rich, 
dark brown, and glitter in the sunshine. 
The shoots of the season are glossy olive 
green. 
In the American species, the teeth which 
terminate the parallel ribs of the leaf are 
regularly and symmetrically set. ‘The leaf 
of the European beech is practically without 
teeth. 
The European beech grows in a denser 
mass and, therefore, makes a more compact 
head. Its form is more symmetrically dome- 
shaped. Asa general thing, both in the open 
and in the forest, the European beech 
branches much lower down than our own 
tree. In the open it is often so very low— 
about three feet, or even less, from the ground 
Leaves of the European beech. Margins without teeth, 
and having five to nine pairs of veins 
Foliage of the American beech (F, fcrrucinea). Teeth 
prominent and nine to fourteen pairs of veins 
There are two forms of weeping beech, one green, one 
about the formal parts of the grounds, or on the lawn 
purple. Should be planted 
In the winter the American beech adds brightness to the woods, on account of the 
silvery gray sheen of the bark in sunshine 
