A beautiful and versatile tree
June 2025
Smooth, gray beech bark. (courtesy Katja Schulz via Flickr)
by Steve Carroll, Contributing Writer
Mature American beeches draw attention no matter the season. Before the leaves unfurl, long, sharply pointed buds are prominent. As the buds open, bright spring-green leaves emerge and expand. Fast-forward to season’s end: the leaves turn yellow-tan, while the distinctive fruits open and drop their protein- and fat-rich nuts to the ground, where a host of mammals and birds seek them out. Beeches hold onto their dead, dry leaves in winter as if to resist the coming season. And no matter the time of year, the distinctive smooth, gray bark stands out.
American beech (Fagus grandifolia) is the only beech in North America and is closely related to oaks and chestnuts. It’s native from Canada’s maritime provinces west to Wisconsin, and south to east Texas and northern Florida. In the mid-Atlantic, it’s more common in the Piedmont and along the coastal plain than in the mountains.
Beech fruit and bud. (courtesy Judy Gallagher via Flickr)
AN IMPORTANT TREE
Beech is a large, slow-growing tree. It favors well-drained soil and tolerates both sun and shade, the latter of which helps make it one of the most important trees of eastern forests. Because it tolerates shade, it can grow slowly under a canopy of other species. When these overstory trees die, beech can reach for the sun and form the new canopy. Beech is noticeably absent from urban and suburban sites, though — a result of its shallow roots, intolerance of compacted soil and eventual large size. Beech flowers are wind-pollinated and inconspicuous. They are either male or female, and both types are on the same tree. If female flowers are successfully fertilized, the resulting fruit is a prickly husk enclosing one to three nuts. These nuts tend to be especially abundant every two to three years or more, resulting in a mast crop gorged on by wildlife.
The leaves are 2 to 6 inches long, toothed and tapered at the tip. In the fall, they turn yellow to tan. The plants host more than 125 butterfly and moth caterpillars.
Beech leaves. (courtesy Katja Schulz via Flickr)
BEAUTY AND VERSATILITY
One of beech’s most distinctive characteristics is its smooth, gray bark, which, unfortunately, entices admirers into carving initials, declarations of love and other sentiments — all bad news for the tree. One well-known example was Daniel Boone’s creatively spelled declaration on a beech outside Jonesborough, Tenn.: “D. Boon cilled a bar in year 1760.”
Beech wood is medium-heavy and hard, and susceptible to splitting; therefore, it is not often used for construction or furniture. However, because it’s odorless and tasteless, it can be used for food-related items such as barrels and butcher blocks. In the right location, a large beech makes a grand addition to the landscape. Speaking of large, Virginia Tech’s Big Trees website informs us that the National Champion American beech is located on private property in New Kent, Va.
Beech is a critical part of our eastern forests. Unfortunately, it’s susceptible to diseases, two of particular concern: beech leaf disease, caused at least in part by a nematode, and beech bark disease, which results when a native fungus invades after a tree is fed on by an introduced scale insect. Foresters and conservationists are greatly concerned about these diseases since a significant loss of beeches would alter our forests forever.
Steve Carroll is a botanist and ecologist who writes about trees, gardening and the world of plants. He is the co-author of “Ecology for Gardeners,” published by Timber Press.