European Beech

Fagus sylvatica

Fagaceae (Beech Family)

▲▼ mature, red (or purple)-leaved forms

▲ mature, red (or purple)-leaved forms

▲▼ younger, red (or purple)-leaved forms

▲ foliage and fruit on red (purple) leaved European Beech

▲ mature, cutleaf form

▲ leaves on cutleaf form of European Beech

▲▼ young tricolor European Beech (above) and leaves (below)

▲▼ weeping forms of European Beech

▲▼ weeping forms of European Beech

▲▼ weeping forms of European Beech

▲▼ weeping forms of European Beech

▲▼ leaves on green-leaf form of European beech

▲▼ trunk and smooth bark

▲ looking up into canopies

▲ European Beech trimmed as a hedge in Dublin, Ireland

▲ landscape with several forms of European Beech in Providence, RI

Location on campus:  north side of Karls Hall

Fagus sylvatica: European Beech

·         leaves similar to American Beech except margins often hairy; color is often darker green and may be slightly pubescent when young; some cultivars have purple or bronze-colored leaves

·         stems also slender, but more olive brown in color

·         bark is smooth, darker gray than American Beech

·         grows 50-60' tall, more of a rounded habit than American Beech; some cultivars are fastigiate (narrow, upright branching) and some are weeping (drooping branches), some have purple/red, tricolor or dissected leaves

·         fruit also a spiny capsule

·         prefers same conditions as American Beech, but more tolerant of various soil types

·         slow to medium growth rate