Identification

• The American beech is tall and wide. Forest-grown trees reach heights of 120 feet tall, but more often the American beech grows 90 to 100 feet tall with a spread of 50 to 70 feet. In spring its leaves are bright green, turning a pale amber color in the fall. Leaves often cling to the branches through the winter. In the spring and summer the beech's branches are full of lush foliage that successfully blocks the sun from the ground below. Its thick canopy, combined with a sprawling, but shallow, root system prohibits anything from growing beneath the American beech.
  
  

Roots and Soil

• Beech trees prefer deep, rich, moist well-drained soils. It does not do well in urban areas, probably because it does not have enough room to spread its roots. Its shallow root system likes a loose, acid soil that holds moisture well. According to the USDA Forest Service, the American beech is a mesophytic species, meaning it thrives in areas with a moderate amount of moisture. Some of the oldest beeches in American are located in the rich bottomlands of the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys--where trees have attained an age of 300 to 400 years old--and along the western slopes of the Appalachian Mountains.
  
  

Beech Nuts

• The American beech begins producing nuts around the age of 40. By the time it reaches 60 years of age, production is abundant. The nuts have a characteristic triangular shape, are 1/2 to 1 inch in size and are eaten by woodland animals and humans. They take one season to mature and ripen between September and November. There are usually 2 to 3 nuts in a bur. Because they are heavy, they drop and remain relatively close to the tree, unless rolled a short distance by rodents or carried kilometers by a blue jay.
  
  

Beech Bark Disease

• Beech trees fall prey to the woolly beech scale insect (Cryptococcus fagisuga), which feeds on the tree by puncturing the bark with its feeding tube. Bark penetration then leaves the tree vulnerable to the bark canker fungus, Nectria. The fungus kills the bark and the insects, at which point cankers form. The cankers can girdle the tree and eventually kill it. There is no remedy for beech bark disease.
  
  

Beech Wood

• Beech wood is strong and versatile. Because of its high resistance to water, it was used in Colonial times to make water wheels. Today it is used in cabinetry and furniture making as well as to make barrels that age beer.