American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
Identifying Features
Plant Family: Fagaceae
Native Range: Eastern North America
Leaf: deciduous, alternate, simple, toothed leaf margin, pointed tip and parallel veins
Twig and Bud: twig slender and zigzagged, bud long and pointed
Flower, Fruit and Seed: flower inconspicuous, fruits are triangular nuts inside prickly husks
Bark: gray, thin and smooth
Shape and Mature Height: dense crown, 50-80 feet tall
Garden Value and Considerations
American beech grows best in full sun to part shade with soil that is rich, moist and well-drained. It does poorly in urban conditions. European beech (Fagus sylvatica) is a good alternative for landscape use.
Notes
Beechnuts are eaten by a variety of wildlife. The trunks of beech trees are often partially hollow creating homes for animals. At Inniswood, hollow beech trunks are a frequent nesting site for barred owls providing protection for their eggs from the damp chill of late winter. The downy heads of owlets that emerge from those cavities later in spring are a delight, but also speak to the importance of the stately American beech.
American beech trees are host to many invertebrates, including beech blight aphids. They appear as fuzzy, white masses on the twigs of beech trees. These aphids feed on the tree’s sap and employ a defensive strategy of waving their posterior in unison, earning them the nickname “boogie-woogie aphid.” The aphids attract the harvester butterfly which feeds on the honeydew excreted by the aphids. The harvester butterfly lays its eggs near a group of these wooly insects. The emerging caterpillars, as North America’s only carnivorous caterpillar, feed on the aphids.
Animals, however, are not alone in needing beech trees. Beechdrops are plants that parasitize beech roots. Beechdrops lack chlorophyll, the green pigment needed for plants to make their own food through photosynthesis. These pale plants instead insert root-like structures into the roots of beech trees and absorb the nutrients they need to grow. Like the aphids described above, beechdrops generally do not harm the trees, they are just one of the many organisms that survive because of the American beech.
