If you see a tree in late winter that refuses to shed its dead leaves when the trees around it are bare, then this is most likely the American Beech, Fagus grandifolia. This deciduous tree’s leaves are toothed on the margins, have pronounced parallel veins running from a midrib, and are 3 to 6 inches long. Leaves will be found alternately on the stems. Twigs have a somewhat zig-zag pattern with a long, slender bud and leaf scar at each outside turning point. The trunk is silver- gray and very smooth. Bark is extremely thin and scars easily, making it a favorite tree for carving graffiti. The American beech is neat and clean in appearance and easy to spot. The leaves above are still hanging on in mid- February.
Beechnuts are produced by beech trees, and it can take 40 years for trees to begin producing them. These small, hard brown nuts are found encased in a spiny burr, the product of small male and female flowers on the tree that are pollinated by the wind. The picture of the spiny beechnuts pictured here was taken in mid-May. A picture of beechnuts taken in early October is at the end, showing them fallen on the ground and split open to release seeds. Though both male and female flowers are produced on the same tree, often trees will be f
ound with many beechnuts next to trees with no beechnuts. Beechnuts are edible by humans but contain tannin, making them bitter but less so than acorns. In spite of the claim that these nuts are edible, I have examined them in late August and found them to be very hard. I often see chipmunks and squirrels around beech trees, and this is because beechnuts are an important source of food for them. An example of this food’s importance is its connection to the now-extinct passenger pigeon. The clearing of beech and oak forests that were their primary food source may have contributed to this bird’s extinction.
Wood from the beech tree is very important, but trees grow slowly producing less than a foot to two feet of growth in a year. Trees can grow 80 to 100 feet tall and can be 2 ½ feet wide over a life span of greater than 300 years. Since these trees grow slowly and have a pleasing oval shape, their use in landscaping can be enjoyed for generations. The wood has straight medium grain, and has important uses for making furniture, flooring, musical instruments (drums), rifle stock, plywood, and more. The wood is also used for smoking and flavoring some foods.
Beech trees have been important serving various needs through history. Because beech trees need plenty of moisture and rich soil to thrive, early settlers often looked for beeches 
as a sign the area might be good to clear for farming. Beech wood writing tablets were commonly used in Germanic societies before the development of paper. The word for both “book” and “beech tree” in German is buch, in Dutch the word is beuk, in Swedish the word is bok. These two examples illustrate how the beech tree has been useful to man in the past, as it is today.
