American Beech Tree- Fagus Grandifolia

The American Beech tree is native to North America and is characterized by smooth, silvery bark and dark green leaves. The leaves are 3-6 inches long with a rich glossy appearance and small incurved teeth on the margins. The veins are prominent and the leaves turn an attractive bronze color in the fall, staying on the tree through much of the winter. This decorative and attractive tree makes a good addition to spacious areas like parks and golf courses. It produces small edible beechnuts that will sustain local birds, squirrels, and chipmunks.

The American Beech tree thrives in moist and well-drained soil in order to grow quickly. Best soils will be rich, loamy, and acidic and can include sand and clay. It does well in shaded or partially shaded areas and is tolerant of many diseases and pests. While the American Beech tree doesn’t grow quickly it will become a legacy for future generations growing to about 50-80 feet at a rate of 12-24 inches per year, with a very long lifespan. The American Beech can grow as tall as 120 feet. You can expect to provide lush shade in your yard with this tree, and it does best in hardiness zones 4-9 with plenty of space around it to grow.

American Beech tree has heavy bark. They live as long as 300 years. During Fall, the Beech's leaves are a bright golden color. The Beech also produces edible nuts. The American beech tree is a shade tree native to the eastern United States with strikingly silver-gray bark. It is the only beech tree that is native to North America. The most robust specimens can grow to a height of 115 feet.It produces four-lobed beech nuts which draw birds and animals that forage for them in the tree branches and on the soil surface. The American beech reproduces by the spread of its seedlings and through sprouts in its roots. Because of the root propagation stands of American beech often grow close to one another. Its roots grow to quite a thickness above ground, and many people consider them to have a resemblance to the human leg and arm muscles. The largest specimens of the American beech grow in the Mississippi and Ohio valleys near the rivers of both valleys. American beeches there can live for as long as 400 years.