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Fagus sylvatica

Common names: European Beech 

Irish name: Feá 

Latin name: Fagus sylvatica 

Family: Fagaceae 

Origin: non - native 

Tree type: Deciduous broadleaf tree  

How it Looks

Shape, Bark, Twigs 

The European beech grows into an oval shape. Its bark is smooth and is silvery grey in colour. Its twigs are purplish brown. 

Buds 

Long, narrow, brown buds up to 2cm in length. 

Leaves 

Oval, pointed and 10cm long approximately, the leaves are alternate and short stalked. They are bright green and covered in fine soft hairs when they first appear in the Spring, darkening as they mature and falling as orangey, brown in the Autumn/Winter. 

Flowers 

European beech is monoecious. Small green flowers in appear in April/May. In April/May male catkins hang from long stalks at the end of the twig. Female flowers grow in pairs surrounded by a cup.  

Fruits 

The fruits manifest as three angled nuts encased in a spiny case, which fall in Autumn.  

Similar species 

Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’ - Purple/Copper Beech 

 

Where to find it?

The European beech is native to much of the Eurasian continent and southern England, but it is also widespread and common in Ireland as a naturalised tree. It flourishes free-draining mineral soils.

Cultural Importance

History | Myth, Legend, Folklore | Art and Literature 

History 

Fagus, the first part of the European Beech’s scientific name is thought to derive from the Greek work ‘phago’, meaning ‘to eat’, while Sylvatica comes from the Latin ‘sylva’, which translates as ‘growing in the forest’. This links with the belief that beechnuts were a food source for prehistoric communities throughout Europe. 

Evidence from the present-day Baque region indicates that, historically, European beech wood was used by the peoples who lived there as a source of fuel, to construct houses and boats, and to make tar and charcoal. Another source relates that European beech was a key species in places such as Argonne, France in the production of charcoal for glassblowing during the Medieval period. It was used to produce both decorative glass and window glass. It is also believed that early Germanic peoples carved runes on pieces of beech wood and that in this connection, the German word for ‘book’ – ‘buche’ – comes from ‘beech’. Historically, the tree was also believed to possess medicinal properties, with its leaves often boiled to create a poultice used for reducing swellings.   

European beech was once native to Ireland around 240,000 years ago. However, as it did not become re-established through natural processes after the last ice age, it is considered non-native. There is evidence to suggest that European beech was eventually re-introduced to Ireland by early farming communities during the Neolithic period (c. 4000-2500), and that they were using beechnuts to make swill for livestock.  

It was not until the 18th and 19th centuries, when programmes of extensive tree planting were undertaken on landed estates, that European beech became a common feature of the Irish landscape. Indeed, it was used for shipbuilding in Ireland during the nineteenth century. After the Irish free state came into existence in 1922 and many of the Anglo-Irish estates were sold off, it was not uncommon for the new owners to capitalise on the demesne timber reserves and cut down vast areas of mature woodland which would have included beech amongst other species. 

European beech was one of the most popular ornamental trees up until the late 19th century, hence why dense populations are found in parks and gardens throughout Britain and Ireland. It was also used widely as a hedging plant. The world’s longest European beech hedge is thought to be the one which runs along the boundary to the Meikleour estate in Perthshire. It measures 530m long and approximately 30m in height and is believed to have been planted in 1745. It has been suggested that the European Beech was introduced to North America sometime around the mid 18th century and that it played an important role in establishing an English-style landscape during the 19th centuries in certain American suburbs, cemeteries and parks. 

The tradition of carving letters on beech trees continues to the present day. Good examples of this phenomenon are the beech trees on Salisbury Plain, the military training area in Wiltshire, UK, on which New Zealand and Canadian soldiers who were stationed there during the First and Second World Wars carved their initials and messages. A Copper beech, rather than a European beech, the Autograph tree at Coole Park, County Galway, deserves special mention here as perhaps the most famous Irish example of this kind of graffiti, where many prominent 19th and 20th century writers and political figures carved their names into the tree. 

Another group of beech trees in (Northern) Ireland – the ‘dark hedges’ in County Antrim - have also achieved fame due to their appearance in the TV series, Game of Thrones, becoming a popular tourist attraction. 

Myth, Legend and Folklore 

Beech holds strong associations with femininity and is commonly regarded as the queen of the forest while the Oak reigns as king. In Celtic mythology, Fagus was revered as the god presiding over beech trees. Additionally, forked beech twigs have been traditionally employed for divination purposes. 

Art and Literature 

Many artists have painted beech trees. Examples include J. M. Turner’s romantic interpretation, ‘Beech Trees at Norbury Park’ and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot impressionist painting, ‘The Beech Tree’.  

In Irish literature, beech features in Patrick Kavanagh’s famous poem, The Beech Tree, where he describes his connection to a beech tree that he planted and nurtured, but which ultimately failed to flourish. The tree also features in the writings of Virgil, Pliny, John Keats and John Evelyn. 

Value to Wildlife

A beech canopy when in full leaf, casts a deep shade on the forest floor beneath and in the autumn and winter its leaf drop creates a dense carpet. As a result, very little grows beneath it. However certain plants such as bluebells and wild garlic have adapted by blooming before a beach woodland comes into leaf. 

Beechnuts are a favoured food source for many animals and birds. Surprisingly, the hazel dormouse, despite its name, also enjoys feasting on beech nuts. Additionally, both red and grey squirrels are known to feed on beech mast and acorns. The reproductive success of dormice and squirrels has been linked to mast years, periods when beech nuts and acorn production is abundant. Historically, pigs and boars in English woodlands used to rely on acorns and beech mast for sustenance. The new leaves are eaten by caterpillar moths. 

Threats

European Beech is susceptible to number of diseases, including Phytophthora and fungi like Meripilus, Ganoderma and Armillaria. Some trees are also vulnerable to beech bark disease, which is caused by a scale insect Cryptococcus fagisuga and canker fungus Nectria coccinea.  Bark stripping by grey squirrels also has a detrimental effect on European Beech. 

Uses

The tree can be planted as a hedge, retaining its Autumn foliage much longer than a single tree. The light-coloured strong wood is used to make furniture, floors, cooking utensils, tool handles and musical instruments.  

As the wood burns well, it is sometimes used to smoke fish, such as herring. The young leaves of the tree can be eaten as a salad. The nuts themselves can be eaten by humans, but they have a high tannin content making them not that pleasant. They are best when roasted when the skin has been removed.  

References

Irish Tree Explorers Network

Líonra Taiscéalaí Crainn na hÉireann

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