The fruits of the common beech tree are called beechnuts. They are slightly poisonous and cannot be eaten raw by humans. What other special features does the fruit of the common beech have? Interesting facts about the fruits of the common beech.
What are the special features of the common beech fruit?
The fruit of the common beech, known as beechnut, is slightly poisonous and inedible to humans raw. They are triangular, brown, about 2 cm long and ripen in spiny fruit cups. Only after heating or roasting are the toxins neutralized and they become edible.
The fruit of the common beech is the beechnut
Beechnuts are small nuts that ripen in a spiky fruit cup. Two, occasionally up to four, beechnuts grow in each fruit cluster.
When they are ripe, the fruit cups break open and the beechnuts fall to the ground. There they are eaten by animals or taken to storage for the winter. This means that squirrels, mice and birds contribute to the proliferation of the common beech.
Beechnuts contain a lot of oil and are therefore a food source for deer, stags and other forest dwellers.
This is what beechnuts look like
- Shape: triangular
- Color: brown
- Size: 2 cm long
- Number: 2 to 4 per fruit cluster
When are beechnuts ripe?
Beechnuts ripen from September to October. If you want to sow common beeches yourself, you can simply pick them up in the forest.
Find more beechnuts than you need. Not every fruit will actually germinate later.
Propagate European beeches from seeds
New beech trees can be grown from beechnuts. It must be noted that the seeds are stratified, meaning they have to go through a longer cold phase. If you don't want to sow the beechnuts directly outdoors in the fall, you can put them in the refrigerator in a dark container for a few weeks.
Beechnuts are dark germinators that only germinate when they are covered by soil or, in the forest, by leaves. The fruits are sown in small pots or directly outdoors.
Some of the seeds will germinate next spring and can be planted out when the trees are big enough.
It takes 40 years for a European beech to bear fruit
Common beeches are only maleable when they are around 40 years old. Beforehand, they do not form beechnuts that are suitable for sowing. If a common beech is cut frequently, it will not produce any flowers and therefore no beechnuts in the fall.
The fruits of the common beech are slightly poisonous
Beechnuts contain fagin and oxalic acid. Both substances cause mild symptoms of poisoning in people. This is also the case with horses.
If you want to eat beechnuts, roast them beforehand or heat them in another way. Heating neutralizes the toxins and makes the beechnuts edible. Then you get a real aroma.
In times of hunger, beechnuts were often on the table. The nuts are very nutritious due to their high oil content.
Tip
Mature beech trees do not bear much fruit every year. Some years the ground is littered with beechnuts, while in others there is hardly any fruit on the tree. This is a natural process and does not mean that the tree is sick.
