American Beech

Scientific Name: Fagus grandifolia. The species name, grandifolia, is a combination of two Latin words – grand and folia – meaning large leaves!¹

Common Name: American Beech. The name American beech tells us where it lives and distinguishes it from a similar species, Fagus sylvatica or European beech. Other names for this tree include color descriptors like gray beech and red beech.²

Family: Fagaceae (Beech Family) The roughly 800+ species in this family primarily grow in the Northern Hemisphere but also may be found in southeast Asia and Australia. They are trees or shrubs that are monoecious (having both male and female flowers on the same plant). The leaves are undivided (although they may be lobed), alternate, and pinnately veined (having veins on either side of a central vein). The fruits are nuts with 1 seed and are fully or partly enclosed by a cupule (think cap or spiny bur!) that can be helpful in identification. Can you think of any other trees that would be in this family? The most numerous in our area are oak trees! Trees in this family are often dominant in our forests, providing habitat and food for numerous insects and other animals.^3,4

Average Height: up to 100 ft.

Description: A medium to large tree with smooth gray bark. The twigs are slender and appear to zigzag. The buds from which the leaves unfurl are roughly ¾” long, slender, and covered in light brown scales. They can be very sharp! The oval shaped, alternate leaves are 2 ½ – 5 ½” long with 11-14 veins extending straight out from the central vein and ending in a tooth. Male flowers are globe-shaped while female flowers are short spikes – both appear on the same tree. Two triangular brown to reddish-brown nuts are enclosed by a spiny husk. The leaves turn a golden brown and remain on the trees over winter.^1,2,4,5

Bloom time: Mar – May

Notes: It can be distinguished from the similar non-native European beech (Fagus sylvatica) by having distinct teeth on the leaves and stouter (and often curved) spines on the husk surrounding the nuts.⁶

Range: Found throughout the entire state of Virginia, although it does not often grow at lower elevations in the mountains.⁷ Grows from Ontario and Quebec south to Florida and as far west as Wisconsin, Missouri, and Texas.⁶

Geology/Soil: May be found on various soils but most often found growing on acidic, nutrient-poor soils that are well-drained. Absent from much of the lower elevations of the mountains on soils over shale, limestone, dolostone, and metabasalt.⁷

Habitat: While originally associated with moist forests, ravines, and slopes, fire exclusion has led to its expansion into dry-mesic upland forests and dry oak forests.^7,8

Flora associations: Due to its prevalence in a wide variety of plant communities, it can be found with a broad array of other trees and plants, including tulip-tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), hickory species (Carya spp.), and oak species (Quercus spp.) in the overstory and everything from plants of rich forests to those loving acidic, dry soils. Epifagus virginiana (beechdrops) is a plant that parasitizes the roots of Fagus grandifolia!

Fauna associations: A wide variety of insects – everything from the larvae of moths, wood-boring beetles, aphids, and leafhoppers – use it as a host plant. The early hairstreak butterfly (Erora laeta) also uses American beech as a host plant. Mammals such as white-tailed deer, black bear, gray squirrel, and woodland deer mouse eat the nuts, which are high in protein and fat, as well as a variety of birds including woodpeckers, wild turkey, blue jays, and tufted titmice. The extinct passenger pigeon ate beech nuts and fed them to its young.⁸

Human associations: Over time, people have found a variety of medicinal and other uses for Fagus grandifolia. Many Indigenous Peoples, including Cherokee, Potawatomi, and Ojibwa, use the nuts as a source of food. The Haudenosaunee use the nuts in sauces, breads, puddings, soup, and beverages. In addition, the Cherokee and others use the leaves to treat sores, burns, frostbite, or poison ivy. The wood is used widely as flooring and in making furniture and various containers.^9,10,11

We want these plants to thrive and for everyone who gets to visit the park to enjoy them, so remember – don’t pick flowers or other parts of the plant!!

1 “Fagus Grandifolia – Plant Finder.” Www.missouribotanicalgarden.org, www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=280709&isprofile=1&basic=fagus%20grandifolia. Accessed 15 July 2024.

2 “North Carolina Botanical Garden.” Floraquest.org, 2023, floraquest.org/plant/show.php?id_plant=FAGR. Accessed 15 July 2024.

3 “Fagaceae – FNA.” Floranorthamerica.org, 5 Nov. 2020, floranorthamerica.org/Fagaceae.

4 Weakley, A.S., J.C. Ludwig, and J.F. Townsend. 2012. Flora of Virginia. Bland Crowder, ed. Foundation of the Flora of Virginia Project, Inc., Richmond. Fort Worth: Botanical Research Institute of Texas Press, pp. 607-609.

5 Seiler, John, et al. “Virginia Tech Dendrology Fact Sheet.” Vt.edu, 2021, dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=47.

6 Flora of North America Association. “Fagus Grandifolia – FNA.” Floranorthamerica.org, 5 Nov. 2020, floranorthamerica.org/Fagus_grandifolia. Accessed 15 July 2024.

7 Virginia Botanical Associates. “Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora | Fagus Grandifolia Ehrhart.” Www.vaplantatlas.org, 2024, www.vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=2743&search=Search. Accessed 15 July 2024.

8 “American Beech (Fagus Grandifolia).” Www.illinoiswildflowers.info, www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/am_beech.htm#:~:text=American%20Beech%20(Fagus%20grandifolia)&text=Description%3A%20This%20tree%20is%20about. Accessed 15 July 2024.

9 My Cherokee Garden. “American Beech (Fagus Grandifolia).” My Cherokee Garden, 6 Aug. 2015, mycherokeegarden.com/2015/08/06/american-beech-fagus-grandifolia/. Accessed 15 July 2024.

10 “BRIT – Native American Ethnobotany Database.” Naeb.brit.org, naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=fagus+grandifolia. Accessed 15 July 2024.

11 “Fagus Grandifolia E H Rh.” Www.srs.fs.usda.gov, www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_2/fagus/grandifolia.htm#:~:text=Beech%20wood%20is%20excellent%20for.

Definitions:

Monoecious: Having both male and female flowers on the same plant.