Beech

Fagus sylvatica

• A large tree and the favourite of Peter Wohlleben author of The Hidden Life of Trees.
• The beech is often identified by its very pale green slightly shiny leaves, with small teeth to them.
• It also usually has branches running perpendicular to the ground, not pointing up towards the sky.
• Beech wood is highly valued by carpenters, it has a delicate grain and a very smooth finish.
• Beeches have a tendency to drop their branches, you can often see multiple scars in the truncates of an old tree showing where it has done this. It gives it one of its common names of Widower Tree.
• The leaves of a beech don’t break down easily when they fall, often creating a thick humus of partially decomposed leaves. I often find I know I’m in a beech wood by the noise underfoot rather than from looking up at the trees around me.