Forest beech or as it is also called European - a majestic tree. These powerful and slender trees form wonderful parks in which silence and pacifying twilight reign. Through the crown of this tree, the rays of the sun hardly break through, which perfectly saves on hot summer days. Beech lends itself very well to molding and shearing, which is why they are actively used to create intricate, slightly magical hedges and walls.
The native land of the European beech is the northern hemisphere. In fact, one glance at this tree is enough to guess the place of its original origin, it is felt intuitively. Beech loves light and good abundant watering. It can grow up to 50 meters high. And legally, it can be considered a long-liver tree. It is planted with seeds.
Description of the forest beech tree
If you make a description of the tree, then it is worth noting the following features: first of all, beech is a large spreading tree with a light gray smooth bark. In autumn, the beech foliage turns yellow and falls off. The trunk of a tree reaches one and a half meters in diameter. The trunks of trees that have passed over a hundred years can be up to three meters in diameter. The crown of the beech is spreading, ovoid, high above the ground. At the same time, the branches of the tree are thin, outstretched, in the plantings they look as if they want to reach the neighboring tree.
The beech bears fruit already at a mature age, reaching twenty to forty years, if the trees are in the plantation at sixty to eighty. In favorable conditions, it can live up to 500 years, while the growth gives up to 350 years.
On young trees, the bark has a brownish color, on adults it is gray, while it is smooth and thin, this feature of the bark remains in the plant for life.
Beech roots deserve special mention. They are very powerful and at the same time shallow, in adult trees they crawl to the surface. The pronounced taproot is absent. It often happens that the roots of nearby beech trees in the forest intertwine, creating enchanting and slightly eerie sculptures that extend across the ground, which can resemble tangles of large snakes.
The buds of the tree are long-pointed. The leaves of the European beech are arranged alternately, two-row, with drooping petioles. The foliage has a wide-pointed elliptical shape, has a light green color, turns yellow by autumn, then becomes brown in color.
Beech flowers are heterosexual, bloom when the foliage is blooming. The fruits of the beech tree are triangular nuts with sharp ribs. The shell of such a nut is thin and shiny, about one and a half centimeters in length. Ripening time late summer - early autumn. Peeling of nuts occurs in the month of October and November. On average, the yield from one European beech is about eight kilograms of nuts. Harvesting occurs as the fruit is fully ripe.
Useful properties of beech tree
The beech tree has many useful and unique properties. The content of essential nutrients in beech nut is impressive.
In addition, beech bark and leaves are of great value.An interesting fact is that beech nuts taste little from pine nuts. They are food for forest dwellers and a real delicacy for humans. However, in their unprocessed form for humans, they are very harmful and they cannot be consumed in their raw form; they must be roasted, since they contain the bitter phaginic juice, which is harmful to humans.
From beech nuts, an oil is obtained that is similar in quality and properties to almond and olive. It is used in many fields of human activity: cooking, medicine, cosmetology and others. Has a light yellow color. The beech fruit cake is rich in protein and is actively used for feeding livestock, which, in turn, is not averse to enjoying this useful product in all respects. European beech leaves contain vitamin K and tannins. From time immemorial, beech bark and leaves have been actively used in folk medicine for the treatment of stomach and intestinal ailments.
European beech is inherently a universal tree, it is easy and unpretentious in processing. Beech wood is superior in its properties to oak wood. Beech is ubiquitous and very actively used in various industries, since wood has proven itself to be strong, durable and beautiful in appearance, both before and after processing. Drying of wood takes place quickly, and after this process there are practically no cracks on the finished product, due to the dense structure of the wood. After processing, the dry board acquires absolute smoothness and can be used as a raw material for the manufacture of musical instruments, parquet and much more.
Beech is a very unpretentious tree. It gets along well on soil of any composition, it loves warmth and abundant moisture, it is frost-resistant, but it can suffer with very strong frosts.
Pests and diseases of forest beech
Oddly enough, but such a powerful plant as the European beech is susceptible to many unpleasant diseases and pests.
Thus, under unfavorable living conditions, a fungal disease (marble rot, stem cancer, seedling rot, white peripheral root rot) can develop in European beech. Among the representatives of the fauna, the well-known bark beetles and bark beetles are considered the most dangerous pests, as well as feathered representatives of wildlife, and mammals who like to taste beech bark and leaves.
Use of forest beech
European beech wood is very popular in various fields of human activity. Various types of furniture are made from it and are actively used in the construction industry. European beech is a source of tar, which is actively used in folk medicine and is one of the important elements in skin and hair care. Beech ash is one of the ingredients for making glass, and beech wood is ideal for kindling a fireplace. It is also interesting that European beech wood, like birch wood, is the most affordable raw material for paper production. If we take the food industry, then beech chips are widely used for smoking sausages; in medicine and cosmetology, beech buds are used for rejuvenating creams.
Beech is considered a unique ornamental plant due to its shape and color, looks amazing in parks and alleys, will be an excellent company in any composition of shrubs, flowers and trees. In addition, the crown of the tree provides a saving coolness on a hot day. Beech looks surprisingly harmoniously with such representatives of the plant world as fir, birch, maple, oak, spruce, as well as with lilac and juniper bushes. If the terrain is open, then European beech will become a bright accent in such a single planting.
Due to their relevance in many branches of human activity, beech forests were destroyed by the "homo sapiens".At the moment, such forests are under the vigilant protection of the well-known UNESCO organization. The places where European beech is grown artificially are also supervised and carefully guarded.
Your description of the beech tree was very helpful to me.
The house I live in is over 250 years old. For several years in a row, a twig emerged from under the foundation, which was mowed along with the grass. But suddenly the twig "shot" a gray trunk with delicate skin and curly leaves. Beech? By all indications, yes. 50 meters away is the city garden, where beeches were planted during the times of Catherine and Anna Ioanovna. The story is very mysterious ... What do you think?