Fagus sylvatica
Beech trees have a very dense canopy which casts shade on the woodland floor; frequently this shading prevents anything else from growing there. The autumnal display in these groves is often spectacular. The leaves carpet the ground all winter as does much of the ‘mast’.
Beech trees produce 2-3 triangular shaped nuts (or nutlets) in a spiny hard case. They are often referred to as beech ‘mast’.
Vikings used to peel the skin ofthe beech tree and inscribe on the soft underside, The word book is thought to originate from this practice, the norse/germanic name for the beech tree is Boche (pronounced bok) it is also their word for a written text.
Recognise by:
Beech trees are recognisable by their smooth grey bark. It is common to see eye shaped markings up the trunk. It was believed that these eye shaped marks would protect everything around the tree from the evil eye. However, in certain parts of Britain these eye markings were said to be the evil eye, which explains why nothing grows in a beech grove!
Uses:
- Furniture
- Workshop jigs
- Dowelling and compressed biscuits