Not to be confused with Birch. Birch is the name of any Tree of the genus Betula ( Bé-tu-la) in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the

Beech
European Beech leaves and cupules
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fagales Family: Fagaceae Genus: Fagus L.
Species
Fagus crenata - Japanese Beech Fagus engleriana - Chinese Beech Fagus grandifolia - American Beech Fagus hayatae - Taiwan Beech Fagus japonica - Japanese Blue Beech Fagus longipetiolata - South Chinese Beech Fagus lucida - Shining Beech Fagus mexicana - Mexican Beech or Haya Fagus orientalis - Oriental Beech Fagus sylvatica - European Beech

Beech (Fagus) is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe and North America. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Dicotyledons, or "dicots", is a name for a group of Flowering plants whose Seed typically has two embryonic leaves or Cotyledons There The Fagales are an order of Flowering plants including some of the best known Trees The order name is derived from Genus Fagus The family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both Evergreen and Deciduous trees and shrubs which are characterized by alternate Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for Fagus crenata, known as the Japanese beech, Siebold's beech, or buna, is a Deciduous tree of the Beech family Fagaceae The American Beech Fagus grandifolia is a species of Beech native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario UserPolbot. --> Fagus hayatae, also known as Taiwan Beech, is a species of beech tree. UserPolbot. --> Fagus longipetiolata is a species of Plant in the Fagaceae family The Mexican Beech or Haya ( Fagus mexicana) is a species of Beech endemic to northeastern Mexico, where it occurs from southwest The Oriental Beech ( Fagus orientalis) is a Deciduous Tree in the Beech family Fagaceae. The European Beech or Common Beech ( Fagus sylvatica) is a Deciduous Tree belonging to the Beech family Fagaceae. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. Botany Autumn leaf color. See --> In Botany and Horticulture, deciduous Plants, including A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or The family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both Evergreen and Deciduous trees and shrubs which are characterized by alternate

The leaves of beech trees are entire or sparsely toothed, from 5-15 cm long and 4-10 cm broad. In Botany, a leaf is an above-ground Plant organ specialized for Photosynthesis. The flowers are small single-sex (monoecious), the female flowers borne in pairs, the male flowers wind-pollinated catkins, produced in spring shortly after the new leaves appear. A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of Sexual reproduction systems found across the Plant kingdom A catkin or ament is a slim cylindrical flower cluster with inconspicuous or no petals usually Wind - pollinated ( anemophilous) but sometimes The bark is smooth and light gray. The fruit is a small, sharply 3-angled nut 10-15 mm long, borne singly or in pairs in soft-spined husks 1. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. Nut is a general term for the large dry oily Seeds or Fruit of some Plants. 5-2. 5 cm long, known as cupules. The nuts are edible, though bitter with a high tannin content, and are called beechmast. Tannins are Astringent, bitter plant Polyphenols that either bind and Precipitate or shrink Proteins The astringency from the tannins is what

Beech grows on a wide range of soil types, acid or basic, provided they are not waterlogged. The tree canopy casts dense shade, and carpets the ground with dense leaf litter, and the ground flora beneath may be sparse.

Beech was a late entrant to Great Britain after the last glaciation, and may have been restricted to basic soils in the south of England^[1]. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands The beech is classified as a native in the south of England and as a non-native in the north where it is often removed from 'native' woods [1]. Beech is not native to Ireland, however it was widely planted from the 18th Century, and can become a problem shading out the native woodland understory. Friends of the Irish Environment say that the best policy is to remove young, naturally regenerating beech while retaining veteran specimens with biodiversity value[2]. Climate change is having a negative impact on the beech in the south of England [3]. This has led to a campaign by Friends of the Rusland Beeches [4] and South Lakeland Friends of the Earth [5] launched in 2007 to reclassify the beech as native in Cumbria [6]. The campaign is backed by Tim Farron MP who has tabled a motion regarding the status of beech in Cumbria [7]. Today, beech is widely planted for hedging and in deciduous woodlands, and mature, regenerating stands occur throughout mainland Britain below about 650 m^[2].

The southern beeches Nothofagus previously thought closely related to beeches, are now treated as members of a separate family, Nothofagaceae. Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of about 35 Species of Trees and shrubs native to the temperate oceanic They are found in Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, New Caledonia and South America. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the world's second largest island, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known For the former North American fur-trading district see New Caledonia (Canada, and for the Scottish colony in Panama see Darien scheme. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a

The beech blight aphid (Grylloprociphilus imbricator) is a common pest of beech trees. The beech blight aphid ( Grylloprociphilus imbricator) is an Aphid that feeds on the sap of Beech trees Beeches are also used as food plants by some species of Lepidoptera (see list of Lepidoptera that feed on beeches). Lepidoptera is an order of Insect that includes Moths and butterflies. Beeches ( Fagus spp are used as food plants by the Larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species including Bucculatricidae

Uses

The beech most commonly grown as an ornamental tree is the European Beech (Fagus sylvatica), widely cultivated in North America as well as its native Europe. The European Beech or Common Beech ( Fagus sylvatica) is a Deciduous Tree belonging to the Beech family Fagaceae. Many varieties are in cultivation, notably the weeping beech F. sylvatica 'Pendula', several varieties of Copper or purple beech, the fern-leaved beech F. sylvatica 'Asplenifolia', and the tricolour beech F. sylvatica 'roseomarginata'. The strikingly columnar Dawyck beech occurs in green, gold and purple forms, named after Dawyck Garden in the Scottish Borders, one of the four garden sites of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is both a scientific institution and a tourist attraction

The European species, Fagus sylvatica, yields a utility timber that is tough but dimensionally unstable. It is widely used for furniture framing and carcass construction, flooring and engineering purposes, in plywood and in household items like plates, but rarely as a decorative timber.

Beech wood is an excellent firewood, easily split and burning for many hours with bright but calm flames. Firewood was the primary source of fuel until the 1800s when it was displaced by coal and later by oil Chips of beech wood are used in the brewing of Budweiser beer as a fining agent. Budweiser is an American-style lager and is one of the most popular beers in the United States. Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed Alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea Finings are substances that are usually added at or near the completion of the processing of Wine, Beer and various nonalcoholic juice beverages Beech logs are burned to dry the malts used in some German smoked beers, to give the beers their typical flavor. Malting is a process applied to Cereal grains in which the grains are made to Germinate by soaking in water and are then quickly halted from germinating further Smoked beer ( German: Rauchbier) is a type of Beer with a distinctive smoke Flavor, which can be imparted either by using Malted Beech is also used to smoke some cheeses.

Beech wood is excellent for furnitures as well. Some drums are made from Beech, which has a tone generally considered to be between Maple and Birch, the two most popular drum woods. Acer ( maple) is a Genus of Trees or Shrubs They are variously classified in a family of their own the Aceraceae, or Birch is the name of any Tree of the genus Betula ( Bé-tu-la) in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the

Also, beech pulp is used as the basis for manufacturing a textile fibre known as Modal. Modal is a bio-based Fiber made by spinning reconstituted Cellulose from Beech trees

The fruit of the beech, also called "Beechnuts", are found in the small burrs that drop from tree in Autumn. They are small and triangular, are edible, have a sweet taste and are highly nutritious. (~ 20% protein and also ~ 20% oil content). However, they do contain organic substances which are slightly toxic (it has been reported that eating approx. 50 nuts may make you ill) so that they should not be eaten in larger quantities. The oil pressed from them does not have this effect any more. It was in common use in Europe in times of abundant labor but scarce food sources, such as in Germany in the years immediately after World War II; people would go into the woods and collect beechnuts, then swap them for oil at small private or community-owned oil mills; the mill would keep and sell a certain percentage to cover its operating costs. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including As collecting beechnuts is time-consuming work, use of the oil dropped sharply when mass-produced oils became more available again.

In Eastern Canada and areas of Great Britain there is a syrup made from Beech trees.

European Beech leaves	Flowers of Fagus sylvatica	Base of a Beech	Beech forest in Slovakia
Mature beeches felled as "non-native" at Thirlmere 2007	Rusland Beeches -March 2004	Save the Rusland Beeches -1997	Fagus sylvatica near Vivo d'Orcia, Siena, Tuscany, Italy

References

1. ^ http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/di/faga/fagus/fagusylv.jpg
2. ^ Preston, Pearman & Dines (2002) New Atlas of the British Flora. Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Thirlmere is a Reservoir in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria, England. Oxford University Press

Margaret G. Thomas and David R. Schumann. 1993. Income Opportunities in Special Forest Products--Self-Help Suggestions for Rural Entrepreneurs. Agriculture Information Bulletin AIB?666, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC

See also

• English Lowlands beech forests

External links

• "Thomas/Schumann article"

• Flora of China - Fagus
• Flora of North America - Fagus
• Kew Checklist - Fagus
• Forestry Commission
• City of London
• Woodland Trust
• South Lakeland Friends of the Earth
• North West Evening Mail
• Early Day Motion Beech Trees