European Beech Tree (Fagus sylvatica)

European Beech is a deciduous tree that belongs to the beech family called Fagaceae. The natural series widens from southern part of Sweden to northern part of Sicily, west to southern England, France, northern Portugal, east to northwest of Turkey and central Spain, where the European Beech inter-ratings with the oriental beech. The European Beech grows only in mount forest at an altitude that ranges from 600 meters to 1,800 meters around the southern part of the Mediterranean.

Features

The European Beech is a big tree, capable of attaining the maximum height of 50 meters, with a trunk diameter of 3 meters. Even a 10-year-old seedling of the European Beech tree will stand at a height of 4 meters. The European Beech usually takes 30 years to reach the full maturity. Similar to most trees, the form of this tree variety counts on the locality. In forest areas, the European Beech tree grows to a height of more than 30 meters, with twigs being high up on the stem. In open places, this tree variety will turn out to be much shorter and more gigantic.

The leaves of the European Beech tree are simple, alternate and entire or with a fairly crenate border, with the length between 5 cm and 10 cm and with the breadth between 3 cm and 7 cm, with 6 to 7 veins on every side of the leaf. As the leaves crenate, there is a single point at the tip of each vein, and there will be no points between the veins. The buds of the tree are slender and long, with the typical length varies from 15 mm to 30 mm and with the thickness between 2 mm and 3 mm.

The leaves of the European Beech tree are habitually not abscissed in the autumn season and instead, stay on the tree pending the start of the spring season. The tree produces small amounts of seeds after 10 years of age, but not a profound crop, pending the tree attains 30 years as a minimum age. The male flowers of the tree are borne in the tiny catkins, which are a trademark of the Fagales array. The female flowers create beechnuts, little triangular nuts with the maximum length of 20 millimeters and a maximum breadth of 10 millimeters at the base.

Uses

The timber of the European Beech tree is employed in the manufacture of several objects and implements. Its short and fine grain makes it a painless timber to effort with, trouble-free to immerse, dye, polish and paste. Steaming makes the timber even easier to an application. It has an outstanding finish and it is defiant to compression and ripping.

The typical lifespan of European Beech tree ranges from 150 years to 200 years, and occasionally, the living period will extend up to 300 years.