MAGAZINE 
The European beech makes an excellent hedge. This one in the Harvard Botanic Garden is forty years old, 
and is now twelve feet high. 
—that it gives the tree a short, thickset, even 
clumsy trunk, but at the same time adds 
greatly to the impressiveness of the tree. ‘The 
leaves are shorter and more nearly oval than 
those of the native tree, and have very ob- 
scure teeth. This gives the leaf of the 
European beech a wavy, scalloped-edged, 
almost entire margin. When the new 
leaves open, this margin is most beautifully 
fringed with delicate silvery hairs which 
remain conspicuous until growth is well ad- 
vanced. 
The American beech leaf has from nine to 
fourteen pairs of parallel veins, whereas the 
European’s leaf has only from five to nine. 
The European’s leaf is also much darker, 
and_as the season advances, becomes thicker 
and of a rather leathery texture. There is, 
too, a degree of gloss, a richness of luster in 
the foliage that the native lacks. 
THE PURPLE AND COPPER BEECHES 
Nearly all the ornamental varieties of 
beech are derived from the European beech, 
as can be easily recognized in the untoothed 
leaves of many of these varieties. The copper 
and purple beeches are the most popular. 
It has never suffered from insect or rust. 
Prune in late winter or early spring 
Like the type, they are low branching, short 
trunked, with a broad, round head. 
The true copper beech (Fagus sylvatica, 
var. cuprea) has leaves of the most delicate 
shade of bronze-gold, gradually deepening 
to rich copper tones, as the season advances. 
Unquestionably the best variety of the 
purple beeches is the Rivers’ crimson, pur- 
purea Riversi. This is often called the 
Rivers’? copper beech but it would be far 
more descriptive to call it by the name I use. 
Its foliage in the spring is a bright crimson, 
changing later in the season to a dark purple, 
and in some fine specimens the color is al- 
most black. The color is held throughout 
the entire season. 
The common purple beech, atro-purpurea, 
clothes its branches with leaves of a rich, 
deep, dark crimson-purple. Walk around 
the tree, and get the effect of the sun shining 
through its rich, dark crimson. ‘The leaves 
fairly flame with the deep wine-red tones, and 
as the breeze sways the masses, ever-shifting 
lights and shadows come and go through 
their depths, now brightening with sudden 
flames now as quickly changing to dark, 
passionate tones. 
One look at this shoot of the cut-leaf beech explains why the entire tree is so handsome 
SEPTEMBER, 1906 
There is a beautiful close relative of this 
tree in the rose-margined purple beech, roseo- 
mlarginata. ‘This has leaves of rich purple, 
with their margins softly flushed with a 
delicate rose color which gives a beautiful 
variegated effect. 
To secure the fullest richness of effects 
these trees must be planted with careful re- 
gard to the surrounding and supporting 
masses of color. If possible plant a copper 
or purple beech where it will foil the white 
bloom of some early-flowering tree, such as 
dogwood, or black haw, or hawthorn. 
ONE GOLDEN-LEAVED BEECH 
The variety Zlatia has bright golden- 
colored leaves, and makes a fine foil for the 
purple beech, if you like striking color effects 
in foliage. This is permissible near the 
house, or in the more formal portion of the 
garden, but hardly for broad landscape work. 
THE CUT-LEAVED TREES 
The European beech also has some 
beautiful varieties with leaves that have their 
margins more or less deeply cut. The one 
most commonly known and _ extensively 
planted in gardens is the cut-leaved beech, 
laciniata, or incisa. The leaves are very 
deeply cut, reminding one of some of the 
smaller-leaved oaks. When grown to its 
full development this tree is remarkably 
decorative, the light, feathery foliage giving 
the whole tree a delightful grace and charm. 
The individual boughs admit of brilliant and 
sparkling effects of sunshine, on account of 
the finely cut foliage, very different from the 
solid masses made by the leaves of the parent 
tree. 
Even more deeply cut is the foliage of the 
fern-leaved beech, heterophylla. Here the 
divisions run clear to the midrib, and amply 
justify the popular name. The young 
branches are almost tendril-like in their 
growth, and curve gracefully in the air. 
The oak-leaved beech, quercoides, is recog- 
nized by the deeply toothed, wavy mar- 
gined, somewhat narrow leaf. The tree is 
of dwarf habit. A curious  sub-variety 
called quercoides cristata has foliage that 
curls inwardly in crowded small tufts, giving 
an effect of so many small tassells along the 
-branches. 
THE BEAUTIFUL WEEPING BEECH 
This is perhaps the most satisfactory of all 
weeping trees. Planted on a lawn, with 
plenty of room to spread, it never fails to look 
“happy” although, of course, odd. 
Its drapery of green falls in rich, dark 
masses, like some cascade. I think the most 
effective grouping is to arrange three of these 
trees close together. 
LEAVES FOUR INCHES ACROSS 
The largest leaved of all the varieties of the 
European beech is macrophylla, spoken of 
as the broad-leaved beech. Its leaves are 
almost as large as our basswood. They are 
silky, and of a rich, glossy green. 
On page 86 there is a horticultural key to 
these beeches, by which any variety may be 
readily determined. 
