Scientific Name:
Fagus grandifolia
Pronunciation:
FAY-gus gran-dih-FOE-lee-uh
Common Name:
American beech
Family Name:
Fagaceae
Plant Type:
Tree - deciduous
Key ID Features:
Leaves alternate, most ovate, 7-9cm long x 4-5cm wide, tips acuminate, margins wavy, serrate, downward pointing, 9-14 pairs of parallel major veins, petioles about 5mm long; fruit appears like a 4-sided spiky capsule. Winter ID: twigs zigzag, about 2mm wide; buds 8-15mm long x 2-4mm wide, reddish-brown (very similar to European beech); leaf scar off-centred, most crescent shaped with 3 groups of bundle scars.
Habit:
Spreading, Twiggy, Upright
Form:
Oval - vertical, Round
Texture:
Medium
Mature Height:
22 - 30m
Mature Spread:
15 - 25m
Growth Rate:
Slow
Origin:
Canada - eastern, U.S. - northeast
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 3: (-40 to -34 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun, Part sun/part shade, Filtered shade, Deep shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Humus rich, Well-drained
Water Use:
Moderate
Landscape Uses:
Screening, Specimen plant, Street (boulevard tree), Tall background, Wildlife food, Wind break, Woodland margin
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Leathery, Pinnate venation
Surfaces:
Glabrous, Lustrous, Pubescent
Colour in Summer:
Bluish, Dark-green
Colour in Fall:
Brown
Shapes:
Elliptic, Ovate
Apices:
Acuminate, Acute
Bases:
Acute
Margins:
Serrate
Additional Info:
Usually glabrous on upper surface
Inflorescence Type:
Flowers clustered
Flower Morphology:
Monoecious plant
Number Of Petals:
0
Ovary Position:
Inferior
Colour (petals):
White, Yellow, Green
Flower Scent:
None
Flower Time at Peak:
Apr
Fruit Type:
Edible, Nut
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Sep, Oct
Additional Info:
Showy, Accessory tissue, Edible, 3-angled nuts enclosed in prickly bracts that split open like a capsule
Bark Morphology:
Smooth
Bark or Stem Colour:
Grey
Leaf Bud Type:
Narrowly conical, Stalked
Leaf Scar Shape:
Half-round
Organ Modifications:
Ectomycorrhizae
Propagation:
Seed
Pest Susceptibility:
Canker or sap rot (Drought tolerant)
Specific Pests:
