The most common deciduous tree in Europe is the European beech. It grows primarily in forests but is also often grown in parks and gardens. European beech trees have some characteristic features that enable clear tree identification.
What characteristics does a European beech have?
The common beech is the most common deciduous tree in Europe and has the following characteristics: smooth trunk, silvery-gray bark, egg-shaped green leaves, height up to 40 meters, round-shaped crown, brown buds and inconspicuous flowers. The reddish wood is sought after timber and its fruits, beechnuts, are slightly poisonous.
Important characteristics of the common beech tree
- Trunk: smooth, hardly grained, up to 2 meters in diameter
- Bark: silvery gray
- Leaves: green, yellow in autumn
- Leaf shape: egg-shaped, slightly serrated at the edge
- Height when fully grown: up to 40 meters
- Crown shape: round, pronounced, even
- Buds: brown, about 2 centimeters long
- Flowers: inconspicuous, monoecious
Common beech trees, which are located in the middle of the forest, have a very smooth trunk, where the crown only starts several meters high.
If the common beech stands alone in the park or garden, there are also branches on the lower trunk. Free-standing trees protect the trunk from excessive sunlight and wind with their leafy side branches.
Why does a European beech tree have green leaves?
Despite their name, European beeches have green leaves. The name European beech comes from the reddish wood.
There are also copper beeches with red leaves. This is then a copper beech. Their leaves contain a lot of red pigment, which overshadows the proportion of green pigments. This beech species is a mutation.
In autumn, the leaves of copper beech and copper beech turn a bright orange-red. In contrast to other deciduous trees, the leaves of the common beech often remain on the tree until the next year.
Common beeches are a sought-after timber
The wood of European beech trees is used for many purposes:
- Furniture making
- Instrument making
- Charcoal
- Incense wood
- Firewood
Beech wood contains little moisture, so it can be easily burned in the fireplace.
The fruits of the common beech are slightly poisonous
Beechnuts are the names of the fruits of the common beech tree. They contain the toxins fagin and oxalic acid, which are toxic to humans and also to horses.
In times of need, however, beechnuts were also eaten. When the fruits are roasted or otherwise heated, the toxins break down so that the beechnuts no longer cause symptoms of poisoning.
Tip
Hornbeams look very similar to copper beeches. They can be recognized by the fact that they are much smaller in nature. The shape of the leaves and the trunk also differ from the common beech.