Beech Fagus sylvatica

Fagus - a god of beech trees in Celtic mythology, especially in Gaul and the Pyrenees.

Kingdom Plantae – Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons

Subclass Hamamelididae –

Order Fagales –

Family Fagaceae – Beech family

Genus Fagus L. – beech

Species Fagus sylvatica L. – European beech

Fagus sylvatica as a native tree is confined to south-east England and the midlands, but grows as a result of planting over the rest of Britain, native to Europe. Although in the past some individuals may have grown naturally in Scotland or northern England and it has now become naturalised there, it is not native in these regions. It is not native in Ireland. The spread of Fagus into more oceanic regions is hampered by the coolness of the summers resulting in the depression of flowering. Its absence from Ireland could be due to the onset of human activity interfering with the natural and unrestricted spread of trees, occurring before Fagus had time to immigrate from England. The greatest dominance of Fagus can be found on calcereous and well drained soils in south-east England and is

characteristic of soils developed on chalk and limestones. However, it also grows well on areas like the Chilterns and South Downs where it roots on overlying loams which may be poor in calcium carbonate. It can also be the dominant tree in southern England wherever there are fertile well drained soils, such as the Chiltern Hills where it forms pure copses. It is probably climatically unsuited to more northern and upland regions of Britain where it would have been unable to compete with Quercus. It will flourish on a wide variety of soils and grows best on deep, well drained, fertile loams containing a good supply of mild humus, although it does have the ability to root in very shallow soils. It avoids heavy, waterlogged soils. It can grow well on free draining sands and sandstones and can even locally dominate on podsolised sands. Modern pollen rain and metereological studies suggest that low winter temperature may be the limiting climatic factor. The tree has been in cultivation for a long time.

Climate and temperatures vary, though humidity needs to be constant. Little is required of the soil so long as it is well drained. Though not demanding of its soil type, the European Beech has several significant requirements: a humid atmosphere (precipitation well distributed throughout the year and frequent fogs) and well drained soil (it can not handle excessive stagnant water). It prefers moderately fertile ground, calcified or lightly acidic. It tolerates rigorous winter cold, but is sensitive to spring frost.

With a slow growth rate Fagus sylvatica is a tall, broad pyramidal shaped deciduous tree, reaching over 40 m in height and 3m trunk diameter, with a straight usually single, sturdy trunk and has smooth light grey fine to medium texture bark, wrinkled appearance and a broad dense crown eventually losing its central leader to several upright branches in the upper one-half of the mature canopy. In forest conditions most of the branches sprout from near the top of the trunk, less so when growing as isolated trees. The trunk exhibits a graceful basal flare with age to the shallow root system It has a typical lifespan of 150 to 200 years, though sometimes up to 300 years.

The stems are olive-brown in colour. The appearance varies according to its habitat; in forest conditions, it tends to have a long, slender light-grey trunk with a narrow crown and erect branches, in isolation with good side light the trunk is short with a large and widely spreading crown with very long branches. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.

The short-stalked leaves are 5-10cm long and 3-7 cm broad, elliptical, simple leaves with wavy entire margins or with a slightly crenate margin, with 6-7 veins on each side of the leaf and alternate leaf arrangement. When crenate, there is one point at each vein tip, never any points between the veins. They are silvery and hairy when young, but turn hairless and glossy dark green with a reddish tint.

A very attractive reddish bronze leaf color in Autumn and the leaves tend to persist through winter creating the typical golden beech leaf carpet seen in every beechwood. The leaves take quite some time to rot fully, and beech woods are carpeted with a deep layer of leaf litter, which prevents other plants from becoming established.
A beech forest is very dark and few species of plant are able to survive there, where the sun barely reaches the ground. The shrub and ground flora layers are generally very poor or non-existent due to the dense shade Fagus sylvatica casts and the heavy, persistent leaf litter it forms. Beech woods are consequently somewhat devoid of woodland flowers and other understory plants.

Young beeches prefer some shade and may grow poorly in full sunlight. In a clear-cut forest a European Beech will germinate and then die of excessive dryness. Under oaks with sparse leaf cover it will quickly surpass them in height and, due to the beech's dense foliage, the oaks will die from lack of sunlight. Foresters may assure the oaks' survival by cutting young beeches with a billhook 10 cm off the ground, which can produce magnificent bonsai.

The European Beech starts to flower when it is between 30-80 years old. The flowers are small catkins which usually appear shortly after the leaves in April or Early May. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) separate staminate (male) and pistillate (female) and are pollinated by Wind. ornamentally insignificant and partially obscured by the expanding foliage They are small and not ornamentally important.

Winter buds twigs and branchlets often lie more or less within the plane of the branch, for an overall layered branching effect, with the horizontal lower branches having upswept twigs and buds at their extremities. Twigs are thin and smooth with buds all along them and are also tipped with a bud. The buds are long pointed and slender, 15-30 mm long and 2-3 mm thick, but thicker (to 4-5 mm) where the buds include flower buds and covered in brown scales. Spring leaf budding by the European Beech is triggered by a combination of day length and temperature. Bud break each year is from the middle of April to the beginning of May, often with remarkable precision (within a few days). It is more precise in the north of its range than the south, and at 600 m than at sea level.

The European Beech invests significantly in summer and autumn for the following spring. conditions in summer, particularly good rainfall, determine the number of leaves included in the buds. In autumn, the tree builds the reserves that will sustain it into spring. Given good conditions, a bud can produce a shoot with up to ten or more leaves. The terminal bud emits a hormonal substance in the spring that halts the development of additional buds. This tendency, though very strong at the beginning of their existence, becomes weaker in older trees.

The seeds are small triangular nuts 15-20 mm long and 7-10 mm wide at the base; there are two nuts in each 4-lobed cupule found singly on erect pedicels, maturing in September to October, 5-6 months after pollination. Beech nuts, called mast, are enclosed in a bristly spiky involucre, woody husk until release. Flower and seed production is particularly abundant in years following a hot, sunny and dry summer, though rarely for two years in a row. Very heavy nut production occurs at intervals of about five years.

The seed has a short viability and is best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Protect the seed from mice. Germination takes place in the spring. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early

summer, after the last expected frosts. The seedlings are slow growing for the first few years and are very susceptible to damage by late frosts. The seed can also be sown in an outdoor seedbed in the autumn. The seedlings can be left in the open ground for three years before transplanting, but do best if put into their final positions as soon as possible and given some protection from spring frosts.

The nuts are an important food for rodents and in the past also people, although they are no longer eaten by man. Nuts are also eaten by chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs), wood pigeons (Columba palumbus) and other birds. Slightly toxic to man if eaten in large quantities due to the tannins they contain, the nuts were nonetheless pressed to obtain an oil in 19th century England that was used for cooking and in lamps. They were also ground to make flour, which could be eaten after the tannins were leached out by soaking.

It is only after the budding that root growth of the year begins. The first roots to appear are very thin (with a diameter of less than 0.5 mm). Later, after a wave of above ground growth, thicker roots grow in a steady fashion.

It has a dense network of roots but these need not be deep and indeed the root system is shallow, even superficial, with large roots spreading out in all directions. and Fagus is prone to toppling by high winds.

The role of the mycorrhizae in the growth of the European Beech is important. Without mycorrhizae, it often does not develop well. The mycorrhizae provide chemical protection of the roots against bacteria and enhanced uptake of mineral nutrients from the soil. The following fungi genera form mycorrhizae with European Beech: Porcini, Milk caps, Amanita, Cantharellus, and Hebeloma.

Fagus sylvatica has a large round pollen grain with a thin cobbly wall. It has three short slit furrows with large halo pores, its most distinctive feature. The surface is coarse, spotty and granular. The large pollen grains are not common in fossil contexts. Although wind pollinated, Fagus has relatively low pollen productivity resulting in low representation in pollen diagrams. It also flowers intermittently and the heavy pollen grain tends to fall to the forest floor very locally, rather than be transported large distances by air currents. The pollen is likely to remain within the confines of beechwoods where winds are minimised and so Fagus pollen can be used as a proxy for the presence of Fagus trees. There are records of Fagus pollen and macrofossils from the Cromer Forest Bed in East Anglia and so it has a long Pleistocene history in Britain. Fagus pollen has also been recorded from the later sub-stages of the Hoxnian interlacial (oxygen isotope stage 7 or 9) from Essex and F. sylvatica macrofossils of comparable age have been found in Ireland. Fagus pollen was recorded in rafted peat sediments in County Durham in northern England and could show an Ipswichian (oxygen isotope stage 5) presence, again late in the interglacial sequence. There are no records from Pleistocene glacial stages. The interglacial Irish record suggests a wider distribution than during the present, Holocene, interglacial. Differences in climatic history between the temperate stages will have been critical in this respect, as Fagus is very sensitive to climatic factors.

Fagus appears to have been a member of the late temperate stage forest in Britain in recent interglacials, often in association with Carpinus, as it has been in the Holocene. How important a component of the late interglacial forests Fagus was is difficult to infer because of its low pollen production and avoidance of wetland areas. If climate is the controlling factor in determining Fagus distribution it may well have been more widespread in Britain, or at least England and Wales, during periods of warmer climate earlier in the Holocene than it is today. This is not supported by pollen data from northern English chalklands however, where forest seems never to have been strongly established, although as past Fagus populations are difficult to reconstruct from its always low pollen percentages this would be difficult to prove either way. Fagus frequencies are not high on chalk in the south of England either. Fagus pollen does occur in mid-Holocene and later pollen diagrams from northern England and may well signify at least local and isolated occurrences of the tree. These often occur after forest disturbance and Fagus may have needed such an opportunity to penetrate Quercus woodland successfully. The rational limit of Fagus sylvatica in south-east England at 3,000BP, continuing the northwesterly. Although this represents the earliest expansion of Fagus populations it is clear that the tree was present much earlier than that date. It then spread rapidly, its nuts transported by birds and animals, to achieve its modern range by c.1,000BP. Birks notes that planted Fagus in Scotland will grow and regenerate without difficulty and so the present range may well not correspond to the past or potential range. Although the climate is probably limiting for natural Fagus spread, it is likely that the late Holocene rapid migration of Fagus and its local establishment in high and concentrated populations in southern England was greatly assisted by its role as an opportunistic coloniser of areas cleared by human activity and then abandoned. Large clearings on well-drained soils within Quercus and Tilia forests followed by a long period of grazing could have allowed Fagus dominance or at least its development as a major component of the secondary woodland. Pollen and macrofossil records become more numerous after the Ulmus decline and the start of Neolithic farming, and much more so after more intensive farming practises of the last 3,000 years. This would not seem to be a pattern consistent with the climatic deterioration of this period, but correlates much better with the effects of extensive human forest clearance, after which Fagus could compete strongly with Quercus and Tilia in woodland regeneration, especially on favourable soils.

Beech also comes as purple beech or Fagus sylvatica Atropurpurea which is often also used as hedging either alone or mixed in with the native type, the leaves colour in the autumn and are also retained over the winter if the plant is used as hedging. It also takes very well to being grown as a hedging plant producing superb hedges that can be used in formal or informal settings. Beech leaves turn brown over winter if they are used as hedging, large tree forms lose most or all of the leaves in the winter.

Beech hedges make effective windbreaks and sort of span the evergreen / deciduous boundary as whereas they are deciduous, they retain the dead leaves on the branches through the winter until they are pushed off by new shoots in the spring time. They are not completely bare and twiggy therefore when grown as a hedge.

To grow as a hedge, bare rooted "whips" from around 18"-24" (45-60cm) tall are best planted in the dormant season from late autumn to early spring, again incorporate plenty of organic matter.

The wood of the European Beech is used in the manufacture of numerous objects and implements. Its fine and short grain makes it an easy wood to work with, easy to soak, dye (except its heartwood), varnish and glue. Steaming makes the wood even easier to machine. It has an excellent finish and is resistant to compression and splitting. Milling is sometimes difficult due to cracking and it is stiff when flexed. It is particularly well suited for minor carpentry, particularly furniture. From chairs to parquetry (flooring) and staircases, the European Beech can do almost anything other than heavy structural support, so long as it is not left outdoors. Its hardness make it ideal for making wooden mallets and workbench tops. The wood of the European Beech rots easily if it is not protected by a tar based on a distillate of its own bark (as used in railway sleepers). It is better for paper pulp than many other broadleaved trees though is only sometimes used for this.

When planting, incorporate plenty of organic matter into the soil and stake well if it is a large specimen to be grown as a tree.

transplant during dormant season moist, well-drained, acidic soil
does not like excessively wet soils
full sun best
shallow, wide root system
prune in early summer or early autumn

Landscape Use

very attractive tree specimen
naturalized areas
large open spaces
lawn tree
parks
golf courses
hedge, with heavy pruning

Liabilities

grass tends not to grow under tree
tends to sucker
fruit can be a litter problem
few minor pest problems including: powdery mildew, aphids, canker, and beech bark disease

Pruning: Usually requires minimal pruning if trained as a tree, remove low lateral branches later on after 5 years if necessary, early removal can result in developing competing leaders.

Medicinal Uses

Antacid; Antipyretic; Antiseptic; Antitussive;

The bark is antacid, antipyretic, antiseptic, antitussive, expectorant, odontalgic. A tar (or creosote), obtained by dry distillation of the branches, is stimulating and antiseptic. It is used internally as a stimulating expectorant and externally as an application to various skin diseases. The pure creosote has been used to give relief from toothache, but it should not be used without expert guidance.

Although beech leaves are not particularly sensitive to ozone, they may be an indicator for high ozone values, because they have few potentially confusing biotic infections. The most important, easily visible plagues are feeding larvae, which never can be mistaken for ozone bronzing, but can defoliate the trees. Ozone induces light-green diffuse dots in intercostal fields which develop to light-green leaf colour, light-green or yellow-green leaf discoloration or bronzing on the upper leaf side of leaves in the upper crown in full sun light similar to Carpinus. Ozone-induced discoloration increases with leaf age, but missing on leaf parts which lie in the shadow of other leaves. An early stippling can also be detected as grey stripes between lateral veins or with a hand lens as black dots. With increasing ozone dose (leaf age) necrotic dots appear. Necrotic dots develop after a period of 1-2 months with a total ozone dose (24h per day) of 60 mll-1h, or an AOT40 (daylight hours) of

9 mll-1h. In shade leaves necrotic dots can appear without chlorosis at the end of the season, but before autumnal discoloration, which is homogeneous without these small necrotic dots in clean air.

Cultivars/Varieties

'Asplenifolia' (confused with and roughly similar to 'Laciniata') - This is a very common cultivar that bears cut leaves that are so fine as to appear fern-like (as with Asplenium, a fern genus). The leaves are lustrous green and may develop good yellow fall color. The habit is large and rounded.

'Dawyck' (also listed as 'Dawyckii' and 'Fastigiata') - This form originates from a tree found in Scotland. It is a fastigiate form with narrow form and upright branches, to 80' tall and perhaps 15' wide. The leaves are green on this selection.

'Dawyck Gold' and 'Dawyck Purple' - These two selections originate from 'Dawyck', but bear leaves that are yellow and purple, respectively.

'Pendula' (also known as f. pendula) - A cultivar that can differ markedly in appearance from specimen to specimen, 'Pendula' has weeping branches that may fall harshly or droop after extending outwards horizontally. Each individual tree is unique, and green leaves clothe specimens that can reach 50' tall and wider.

'Purple Fountain' and 'Purpurea Pendula' - These cultivars are weeping forms with purple leaves. They bear upright trunks with branches that hang gracefully. Among the slowest-growing forms, they are typically much more narrow than tall.

'Riversii', 'Rohanii' and 'Spaethiana' (also listed as 'Spathiana') - This trio represents the most common forms of standard F. sylvatica with deep-purple leaves (often known as Copper Beech). The color can be deep-purple to approaching black in spring and early summer, but it may fade slightly as the season progresses. The habit is rounded and the plant may grow to 50' tall and wide. These are very popular forms.

'Roseomarginata' (also listed as 'Tricolor' and 'Purpurea Tricolor') - This eye-catching selection is the most common variegated form of European beech. The leaves are purple with a wide margin of pink or cream, and the foliage is brightest in spring. By late summer, the lighter portions of the leaves may burn -- thus the plant appreciates some shade. It is a slower grower, reaching 30' tall in time.

'Tortuosa' (also listed as f. tortuosa) - This unusual form features contorted trunk and branches, giving the plant the look of a large weather-beaten bonsai. The leaves are green and not twisted. At maturity, the plant forms a large rounded mound of foliage to 15' tall.

Feeding and other inter-species relationships

Associated with Fagus:

Aphid infested

aphid-infested is associate of larva Melangyna cincta - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
aphid-infested is associate of larva Parasyrphus punctulatus - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)

Foodplant of

is foodplant of Polydrusus cervinus - a weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
is foodplant of Polydrusus mollis - a weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
is foodplant of Phyllobius argentatus - Silver-green Leaf Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Dead or dying timber

under bark of fallen tree is decayed by larva Brachyopa pilosa - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
decaying heartwood is decayed by larva Brachypalpoides lentus - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae) [particularly live tree, with exposed decay at ground level]
wet, decaying root is decayed by larva Myathropa florea - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
wet, decaying root is decayed by larva Brachypalpoides lentus - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
wet, decaying root is decayed by larva Caliprobola speciosa - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae) [especially old stumps where may be deep in roots]
wet, decaying root is decayed by larva Criorhina berberina - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
wet, decaying root is decayed by larva Criorhina floccosa - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
wet, decaying root is decayed by larva Criorhina ranunculi - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
wet, decaying root is decayed by larva Xylota sylvarum - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
debris-filled rot hole may house larva Potamia setifemur - a muscid fly (Diptera: Muscidae)
rot hole is decayed by larva Callicera spinolae - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
rot hole is decayed by larva Mallota cimbiciformis - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
rot hole is decayed by larva Myathropa florea - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
rot hole is decayed by larva Brachypalpoides lentus - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
rot hole is decayed by larva Pocota personata - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
rot hole is decayed by larva Xylota sylvarum - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
rot hole is associate of larva Myolepta luteola - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
water-filled stump cavity is associate of larva Callicera aurata - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
dead or rotten wood is foodplant of Phloeophagus gracilis - a weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
dead wood may contain Stereocorynes truncorum - a weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
dead wood is foodplant of Rhopalomesites tardyi - Holly Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
dead wood may house imago Sinodendron cylindricum - Rhinoceros Beetle (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)
dead, esp hollow wood may contain Phloeophagus lignarius - a weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
sawdust-packed tunnel in dead wood may house ovum Sinodendron cylindricum - Rhinoceros Beetle (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)
spongy wood may house imago Dorcus parallelipipedus - Lesser Stag Beetle (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)
dead or rotten wood of especially stump may contain larva Lucanus cervus - Stag Beetle (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)

Leaf

leaf is grazed by larva Caliroa annulipes - a sawfly (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) [skeletonises the leaf, leaving one cuticle intact]

Sap run

sap run is decayed by larva Brachyopa bicolor - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)
sap run is decayed by larva Brachyopa pilosa - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae) [southern England]
sap run is decayed by larva Sphegina - a genus of hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae)
sap run is decayed by larva Myathropa florea - a hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae)

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