View source for Beech

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the family Fagaceae}}
{{About|the genus of trees|other uses|Beech (disambiguation)|and|Beechwood (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Beach|Birch|Fagus (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Beech
| image = Fagus sylvatica Purpurea JPG4a.jpg
| image_caption = European beech (''[[Fagus sylvatica]]'')
| parent_authority = [[Karl Koch (botanist)|K.Koch]]
| taxon = Fagus
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
| type_species = ''[[Fagus sylvatica]]''
| type_species_authority = [[Carl von Linné|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See [[#Species|text]]
}}
'''Beech''' (genus '''''Fagus''''') is a [[genus]] of [[deciduous]] trees in the family [[Fagaceae]], native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of [[Mesophyte|mesophytic]] forests) [[Eurasia]] and North America. There are 14 accepted species in two distinct subgenera, ''Englerianae'' {{Small|Denk & G.W.Grimm}} and ''Fagus''.<ref name="Denk-2024">{{Cite journal |last1=Denk |first1=Thomas |last2=Grimm |first2=Guido W. |last3=Cardoni |first3=Simone |last4=Csilléry |first4=Katalin |last5=Kurz |first5=Mirjam |last6=Schulze |first6=Ernst-Detlef |last7=Simeone |first7=Marco Cosimo |last8=Worth |first8=James R. P. |date=2024 |title=A subgeneric classification of Fagus (Fagaceae) and revised taxonomy of western Eurasian beeches |journal=Willdenowia |volume=54 |issue=2–3 |doi=10.3372/wi.54.54301 |issn=0511-9618|doi-access=free }}</ref> The subgenus ''Englerianae'' is found only in East Asia, distinctive for its low branches, often made up of several major trunks with yellowish bark. The better known species of subgenus ''Fagus'' are native to Europe, western and eastern Asia and eastern North America. They are high-branching trees with tall, stout trunks and smooth silver-grey bark.

The European beech ''[[Fagus sylvatica]]'' is the most commonly cultivated species, yielding a utility timber used for furniture construction, flooring and engineering purposes, in plywood, and household items. The timber can be used to build homes. Beechwood makes excellent [[firewood]]. Slats of washed beech wood are spread around the bottom of fermentation tanks for [[Budweiser]] beer. Beech logs are burned to dry the [[malt]] used in some German [[smoked beer]]s. Beech is also used to smoke [[Westphalian ham]], [[andouille]] sausage, and some cheeses.

== Description ==
[[File:Fagus sylvatica leaf 001.jpg|thumb|Leaf of ''[[Fagus sylvatica]]'']]
[[File:Beechnuts during autumn.jpg|thumb|Beechnuts in autumn]]
Beeches are [[monoecious]], bearing both male and female flowers on the same plant. The small flowers are unisexual, the female flowers borne in pairs, the male flowers wind-pollinating [[catkin]]s. They are produced in spring shortly after the new leaves appear. The fruit of the beech tree, known as beechnuts or mast, is found in small [[bur]]rs that drop from the tree in autumn. They are small, roughly triangular, and edible, with a bitter, astringent, or mild and nut-like taste.

The European beech (''Fagus sylvatica'') is the most commonly cultivated, although few important differences are seen between species aside from detail elements such as [[leaf]] shape. The leaves of beech trees are entire or sparsely toothed, from {{convert|5|–|15|cm|in|0|abbr=off}} long and {{convert|4|–|10|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} broad.

The bark is smooth and light gray. The fruit is a small, sharply three-angled [[nut (fruit)|nut]] {{convert|10|–|15|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} long, borne singly or in pairs in soft-spined husks {{convert|1.5|–|2.5|cm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} long, known as cupules. The husk can have a variety of spine- to scale-like appendages, the character of which is, in addition to leaf shape, one of the primary ways beeches are differentiated.<ref name="Shen-1992">{{cite thesis |last=Shen |first=Chung-Fu |title=A Monograph of the Genus ''Fagus'' Tourn. Ex L. (Fagaceae) |date=1992 |type=PhD |publisher=City University of New York |oclc=28329966}}</ref> The nuts are called beechnuts<ref name="Lyle-2010">{{Cite book |last=Lyle |first=Katie Letcher |title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: How to Find, Identify, and Cook Them |publisher=[[FalconGuides]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-59921-887-8 |edition=2nd |location=Guilford, CN |pages=138 |oclc=560560606 |orig-year=2004}}</ref> or beech mast and have a bitter taste (though not nearly as bitter as [[acorn]]s) and a high [[tannin]] content.

== Taxonomy and systematics ==
The most recent classification system of the genus recognizes 14 species in two distinct subgenera, subgenus ''Englerianae'' and ''Fagus''.<ref name="Denk-2024" /> Beech species can be diagnosed by [[Phenotype|phenotypical]] and/or [[Genotype|genotypical]] traits. Species of subgenus ''Engleriana'' are found only in East Asia, and are notably distinct from species of subgenus ''Fagus'' in that these beeches are low-branching trees, often made up of several major trunks with yellowish bark and a substantially different [[Nuclear DNA|nucleome (nuclear DNA)]], especially in noncoding, highly variable gene regions such as the [[Spacer DNA|spacers]] of the nuclear-encoded [[Ribosomal DNA|ribosomal RNA genes (ribosomal DNA)]].<ref name="Cardoni-2021">{{Citation |last1=Cardoni |first1=Simone |title=5S-IGS rDNA in wind-pollinated trees (Fagus L.) encapsulates 55 million years of reticulate evolution and hybrid origins of modern species |date=2021-10-19 |url=https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.26.433057v2 |access-date=2024-10-24 |language=en |doi=10.1111/tpj.15601|biorxiv=10.1101/2021.02.26.433057 |last2=Piredda |first2=Roberta |last3=Denk |first3=Thomas |last4=Grimm |first4=Guido W. |last5=Papageorgiou |first5=Aristotelis C. |last6=Schulze |first6=Ernst-Detlef |last7=Scoppola |first7=Anna |last8=Shanjani |first8=Parvin Salehi |last9=Suyama |first9=Yoshihisa|journal=The Plant Journal |volume=109 |issue=4 |pages=909–926 |pmid=34808015 |pmc=9299691 }}</ref><ref name="Denk-2005">{{Cite journal |last1=Denk |first1=Thomas |last2=Grimm |first2=Guido W. |last3=Hemleben |first3=Vera |date=June 2005 |title=Patterns of molecular and morphological differentiation in Fagus (Fagaceae): phylogenetic implications |url=https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3732/ajb.92.6.1006 |journal=American Journal of Botany |language=en |volume=92 |issue=6 |pages=1006–1016 |doi=10.3732/ajb.92.6.1006 |pmid=21652485 |issn=0002-9122}}</ref> Further differentiating characteristics include the whitish bloom on the underside of the leaves, the visible tertiary leaf veins, and a long, smooth cupule-peduncle. Originally proposed but not formalized by botanist Chung-Fu Shen in 1992, this group comprised two Japanese species, ''[[Fagus japonica|F.&nbsp;japonica]]'' and ''[[Fagus okamotoi|F.&nbsp;okamotoi]],'' and one Chinese species, ''[[Fagus engleriana|F.&nbsp;engleriana]]''.<ref name="Shen-1992" /> While the status of ''F. okamotoi'' remains uncertain, the most recent systematic treatment based on morphological and genetic data confirmed a third species, ''F. multinervis,'' endemic to [[Ulleungdo]], a South Korean island in the [[Sea of Japan]].<ref name="Denk-2024" /> The beeches of Ulleungdo have been traditionally treated as a subspecies of ''F. engleriana,'' to which they are phenotypically identical,<ref name="Shen-1992" /><ref name="Denk-2003">{{Cite journal |last=Denk |first=T. |date=2003-09-01 |title=Phylogeny of Fagus L. (Fagaceae) based on morphological data |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00606-003-0018-x |journal=Plant Systematics and Evolution |language=en |volume=240 |issue=1 |pages=55–81 |doi=10.1007/s00606-003-0018-x |bibcode=2003PSyEv.240...55D |issn=1615-6110|url-access=subscription }}</ref> or as a variety of ''F. japonica.''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Oh |first1=Sang-Hun |last2=Youm |first2=Jung-Won |last3=Kim |first3=Yong-In |last4=Kim |first4=Young-Dong |date=2016-09-01 |title=Phylogeny and Evolution of Endemic Species on Ulleungdo Island, Korea: The Case of Fagus multinervis (Fagaceae) |url=http://openurl.ingenta.com/content/xref?genre=article&issn=0363-6445&volume=41&issue=3&spage=617 |journal=Systematic Botany |language=en |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=617–625 |doi=10.1600/036364416X692271|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The differ from their siblings by their unique [[Nuclear DNA|nuclear]] and [[Chloroplast DNA|plastid]] genotypes.<ref name="Denk-2024" /><ref name="Jiang-2022">{{Cite journal |last1=Jiang |first1=Lu |last2=Bao |first2=Qin |last3=He |first3=Wei |last4=Fan |first4=Deng-Mei |last5=Cheng |first5=Shan-Mei |last6=López-Pujol |first6=Jordi |last7=Chung |first7=Myong Gi |last8=Sakaguchi |first8=Shota |last9=Sánchez-González |first9=Arturo |last10=Gedik |first10=Aysun |last11=Li |first11=De-Zhu |last12=Kou |first12=Yi-Xuan |last13=Zhang |first13=Zhi-Yong |date=July 2022 |title=Phylogeny and biogeography of Fagus (Fagaceae) based on 28 nuclear single/low-copy loci |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jse.12695 |journal=Journal of Systematics and Evolution |language=en |volume=60 |issue=4 |pages=759–772 |doi=10.1111/jse.12695 |issn=1674-4918|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Cardoni-2021" />

The better known subgenus ''Fagus'' beeches are high-branching with tall, stout trunks and smooth silver-gray bark. This group includes five extant species in continental and insular East Asia (''[[Fagus crenata|F. crenata]], [[Fagus longipetiolata|F. longipetiolata]], [[Fagus lucida|F. lucida]]'', and the [[Cryptic speciation|cryptic]] sister species ''[[Fagus hayatae|F. hayatae]]'' and ''[[Fagus pashanica|F. pashanica]]'')'','' two pseudo-cryptic species in [[eastern North America]] ([[Fagus grandifolia|''F.&nbsp;grandifolia'']]'', [[Fagus mexicana|F. mexicana]]''), and a [[species complex]] of at least four species (''[[Fagus caspica|F. caspica]], [[Fagus hohenackeriana|F. hohenackeriana]], [[Fagus orientalis|F. orientalis]], [[Fagus sylvatica|F. sylvatica]]'') in [[Western Eurasia]]. Their genetics are highly complex and include both species-unique [[allele]]s as well as alleles and ribosomal DNA spacers that are shared between two or more species.<ref name="Denk-2024" /> The western Eurasian species are characterized by morphological and genetical gradients.

Research suggests that the first representatives of the modern-day genus were already present in the [[Paleocene]] of [[Arctic]] North America (western [[Greenland]]<ref name="Grímsson-2016">{{Cite journal |last1=Grímsson |first1=Friðgeir |last2=Grimm |first2=Guido W. |last3=Zetter |first3=Reinhard |last4=Denk |first4=Thomas |date=2016-12-01 |title=Cretaceous and Paleogene Fagaceae from North America and Greenland: evidence for a Late Cretaceous split between Fagus and the remaining Fagaceae |url=https://acpa.botany.pl/Cretaceous-and-Paleogene-Fagaceae-nfrom-North-America-and-Greenland-evidence-nfor,118915,0,2.html |journal=Acta Palaeobotanica |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=247–305 |doi=10.1515/acpa-2016-0016 |issn=2082-0259|doi-access=free }}</ref>) and quickly radiated across the high latitudes of the [[Northern Hemisphere]], with a first [[Biodiversity|diversity]] peak in the [[Miocene]] of northeastern Asia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Denk |first1=Thomas |last2=Grimm |first2=Guido W. |date=2009 |title=The biogeographic history of beech trees |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0034666709001353 |journal=Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology |language=en |volume=158 |issue=1–2 |pages=83–100 |doi=10.1016/j.revpalbo.2009.08.007|bibcode=2009RPaPa.158...83D |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Renner |first1=S. S. |last2=Grimm |first2=Guido W. |last3=Kapli |first3=Paschalia |last4=Denk |first4=Thomas |date=2016-07-19 |title=Species relationships and divergence times in beeches: new insights from the inclusion of 53 young and old fossils in a birth–death clock model |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |language=en |volume=371 |issue=1699 |pages=20150135 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2015.0135 |issn=0962-8436 |pmc=4920336 |pmid=27325832}}</ref> The contemporary species are the product of past, repeated [[Reticulate evolution|reticulate evolutionary processes]] ([[Outcrossing|outbreeding]], [[introgression]], [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridization]]).<ref name="Cardoni-2021" /> As far as studied, heterozygosity and intragenomic variation are common in beech species,<ref name="Cardoni-2021" /><ref name="Denk-2005" /><ref name="Jiang-2022" /> and their chloroplast genomes are nonspecific with the exception of the Western Eurasian and North American species.<ref name="Denk-2024" />

''Fagus'' is the first [[Divergent evolution|diverging]] lineage in the evolution of the [[Fagaceae]] family,<ref name="Grímsson-2016" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhou |first1=Biao-Feng |last2=Yuan |first2=Shuai |last3=Crowl |first3=Andrew A. |last4=Liang |first4=Yi-Ye |last5=Shi |first5=Yong |last6=Chen |first6=Xue-Yan |last7=An |first7=Qing-Qing |last8=Kang |first8=Ming |last9=Manos |first9=Paul S. |last10=Wang |first10=Baosheng |date=2022-03-14 |title=Phylogenomic analyses highlight innovation and introgression in the continental radiations of Fagaceae across the Northern Hemisphere |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=1320 |doi=10.1038/s41467-022-28917-1 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=8921187 |pmid=35288565|bibcode=2022NatCo..13.1320Z }}</ref> which also includes [[oak]]s and [[chestnut]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Manos |first1=Paul S. |first2=Kelly P. |last2=Steele |title=Phylogenetic analysis of "Higher" Hamamelididae based on Plasid Sequence Data |journal=American Journal of Botany |volume=84 |issue=10 |pages=1407–19 |date=1997 |doi=10.2307/2446139 |jstor=2446139 |pmid=21708548 |url=|doi-access=free }}</ref> The oldest fossils that can be assigned to the beech lineage are 81–82 million years old [[pollen]] from the [[Late Cretaceous]] of [[Wyoming]], United States.<ref name="Grímsson-2016" /> The '''southern beeches''' (genus ''[[Nothofagus]]'') historically thought closely related to beeches, are treated as members of a separate family, the [[Nothofagaceae]] (which remains a member of the order [[Fagales]]). They are found throughout the [[Southern Hemisphere]] in Australia, New Zealand, [[New Guinea]], [[New Caledonia]], as well as [[Argentina]] and Chile (principally [[Patagonia]] and [[Tierra del Fuego]]).

===Species===
Species treated in Denk et al. (2024) and listed in [[Plants of the World Online|Plants of the World Online (POWO)]]:<ref name="Denk-2024" />
{| class="wikitable collapsible"
|-
! Image !! Name 
!Subgenus
!Status, systematic affinity!! Distribution 
!Accepted as species in POWO as of April 2023<ref name="POWO-2022">{{cite web |date=2022-05-07 |title=Fagus L. - Plants of the World Online |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30048723-2 |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=Plants of the World Online}}</ref>
|-
|
|''[[Fagus caspica]]'' {{Small|Denk & G.W.Grimm}} – Caspian beech
|''Fagus''
|New species described in 2024;<ref name="Denk-2024" /> first-diverging lineage within the Western Eurasian group
|[[Talysh Mountains|Talysch]] and [[Alborz|Elburz Mountains]], southeastern [[Azerbaijan]] and northern [[Iran]]
|Populations included in ''F. sylvatica'' subsp. ''orientalis''
|-
| ||''[[Fagus chienii]]'' {{small|[[Wan Chun Cheng|W.C.Cheng]]}}
|''Fagus''
|Possibly conspecific with ''F. lucida''<ref name="Denk-2003" />|| Probably extinct, described from a single location in China (Sichuan). Individuals recently collected at the type locality were morphologically and genetically indistinguishable from ''F. pashanica''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Dan-Qi |last2=Jiang |first2=Lu |last3=Liang |first3=Hua |last4=Zhu |first4=Da-Hai |last5=Fan |first5=Deng-Mei |last6=Kou |first6=Yi-Xuan |last7=Yang |first7=Yi |last8=Zhang |first8=Zhi-Yong |date=2023-09-01 |title=Resolving a nearly 90-year-old enigma: The rare Fagus chienii is conspecific with F. hayatae based on molecular and morphological evidence |journal=Plant Diversity |volume=45 |issue=5 |pages=544–551 |doi=10.1016/j.pld.2023.01.003 |issn=2468-2659 |pmc=10625896 |pmid=37936819|bibcode=2023PlDiv..45..544L }}</ref>
|Yes
|-
|[[File:Fagus crenata leave in Mount Mominuka.jpg|120px]]||''[[Fagus crenata]]'' {{small|[[Carl Ludwig Blume|Blume]]}} – Siebold's beech or Japanese beech
|''Fagus''
|Widespread species; complex history connecting it to both the Western Eurasian group and the other East Asian species of subgenus ''Fagus''<ref name="Cardoni-2021" />||Japan; in the mountains of [[Kyushu]], [[Shikoku]] and [[Honshu]], down to sea-level in southern [[Hokkaido]].
|Yes
|-
|[[File:Fagus engleriana - Morris Arboretum - DSC00475.JPG|120px]]||''[[Fagus engleriana]]'' {{small|[[Karl Otto von Seemen|Seemen]] ex Diels}} – Chinese beech
|''Englerianae''
|Widespread species; continental sister species of ''F. japonica''<ref name="Denk-2005" /><ref name="Jiang-2022" /><ref name="Cardoni-2021" />||China; south of the [[Yellow River]]
|Yes
|-
|[[File:Fagus grandifolia JPG1Ms.jpg|120px]]||''[[Fagus grandifolia]]'' {{small|[[Ehrh.]]}} – American beech
|''Fagus''
|Widespread species; sister species of ''F. mexicana''<ref name="Jiang-2022" /><ref name="Cardoni-2021" />||Eastern North America; from E. Texas and N. Florida, United States, to the [[St. Lawrence River]], Canada at low to mid altitudes
|Yes, including Mexican beeches, ''F. mexicana''
|-
|[[File:Fagus hayatae 98412.jpg|120px]]||''[[Fagus hayatae]]'' {{small|Palib. ex Hayata}}
|''Fagus''
|Narrow [[Endemism|endemic]] species; forming a cryptic sister species pair with ''F. pashanica''<ref name="Cardoni-2021" /><ref name="Denk-2024" />||[[Taiwan]]; restricted to the mountains of northern Taiwan
|Yes
|-
|
|''Fagus hohenackeriana'' {{Small|Palib.}} – [[Rudolph Friedrich Hohenacker|Hohenacker]]'s or Caucasian beech
|''Fagus''
|Dominant tree species of the Pontic and [[Caucasus]] Mountains; intermediate between ''F. caspica'' and ''F. orientalis.''<ref name="Gömöry-2010">{{Cite journal |last1=Gömöry |first1=Dušan |last2=Paule |first2=Ladislav |date=2010-07-01 |title=Reticulate evolution patterns in western-Eurasian beeches |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00035-010-0068-y |journal=Botanica Helvetica |language=en |volume=120 |issue=1 |pages=63–74 |doi=10.1007/s00035-010-0068-y |bibcode=2010BotHe.120...63G |issn=1420-9063|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Gömöry-2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Gömöry |first1=Dušan |last2=Paule |first2=Ladislav |last3=Mačejovský |first3=Vladimír |date=2018-06-29 |title=Phylogeny of beech in western Eurasia as inferred by approximate Bayesian computation |url=https://pbsociety.org.pl/journals/index.php/asbp/article/view/asbp.3582 |journal=Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae |language=en |volume=87 |issue=2 |page=3582 |doi=10.5586/asbp.3582 |bibcode=2018AcSBP..87.3582G |issn=2083-9480}}</ref><ref name="Kurz-2023">{{Cite journal |last1=Kurz |first1=Mirjam |last2=Kölz |first2=Adrian |last3=Gorges |first3=Jonas |last4=Pablo Carmona |first4=Beatriz |last5=Brang |first5=Peter |last6=Vitasse |first6=Yann |last7=Kohler |first7=Martin |last8=Rezzonico |first8=Fabio |last9=Smits |first9=Theo H. M. |last10=Bauhus |first10=Jürgen |last11=Rudow |first11=Andreas |last12=Kim Hansen |first12=Ole |last13=Vatanparast |first13=Mohammad |last14=Sevik |first14=Hakan |last15=Zhelev |first15=Petar |date=2023-03-01 |title=Tracing the origin of Oriental beech stands across Western Europe and reporting hybridization with European beech – Implications for assisted gene flow |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378112723000348 |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |volume=531 |pages=120801 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2023.120801 |bibcode=2023ForEM.53120801K |issn=0378-1127|hdl=20.500.11850/597076 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Its genetic heterogeneity<ref name="Denk-2024" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sękiewicz |first1=Katarzyna |last2=Danelia |first2=Irina |last3=Farzaliyev |first3=Vahid |last4=Gholizadeh |first4=Hamid |last5=Iszkuło |first5=Grzegorz |last6=Naqinezhad |first6=Alireza |last7=Ramezani |first7=Elias |last8=Thomas |first8=Peter A. |last9=Tomaszewski |first9=Dominik |last10=Walas |first10=Łukasz |last11=Dering |first11=Monika |date=2022 |title=Past climatic refugia and landscape resistance explain spatial genetic structure in Oriental beech in the South Caucasus |journal=Ecology and Evolution |language=en |volume=12 |issue=9 |pages=e9320 |doi=10.1002/ece3.9320 |issn=2045-7758 |pmc=9490144 |pmid=36188519|bibcode=2022EcoEv..12E9320S }}</ref> may be indicative for ongoing speciation processes.
|Northeastern Anatolia ([[Pontic Mountains]], [[Kaçkar Mountains]]) and Caucasus region ([[Lesser Caucasus|Lesser]] and [[Greater Caucasus]], Georgia, [[Armenia]], [[North Caucasus|Ciscaucasia]]; down to sea-level in southwestern Georgia)
|No, populations included in ''F. sylvatica'' subsp. ''orientalis''
|-
|[[File:Forest in Tanzawa 08.jpg|120px]]||''[[Fagus japonica]]'' {{small|[[Maxim.]]}}
|''Englerianae''
|Widespread species; insular sister species of ''F. engleriana''<ref name="Cardoni-2021" />''<ref name="Denk-2005" /><ref name="Jiang-2022" />''||Japan; Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu from sea-level up to c. 1500 m [[Height above mean sea level|a.s.l.]]
|Yes
|-
|
|[[Fagus longipetiolata]] {{Small|Seemen}}
|''Fagus''
|[[Sympatry|Sym-]] to [[Parapatry|parapatric]] with ''F. lucida'' and ''F. pashanica'', and sharing alleles with both species in addition to alleles indicating a sister relationship with the Japanese ''F. crenata''.<ref name="Cardoni-2021" /><ref name="Jiang-2022" />
|China, south of the Yellow River, into N. [[Vietnam]]; in montane areas up to 2400 m a.s.l.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fagus longipetiolata in Flora of China @ efloras.org |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200006255 |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=www.efloras.org}}</ref>
|Replaced by ''F. sinensis''
|-
|[[File:Fagus lucida Buk 2020-07-18 01.jpg|120px]]||''[[Fagus lucida]]'' {{small|Rehder & [[E.H.Wilson]]}}
|''Fagus''
|Rare species; closest relatives are ''F. crenata''<ref name="Cardoni-2021" /><ref name="Denk-2005" /><ref name="Denk-2003" /> and ''F. longipetiolata''<ref name="Cardoni-2021" /><ref name="Jiang-2022" />||China; south of the Yellow River in montane areas between 800 and 2000 m a.s.l.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fagus lucida in Flora of China @ efloras.org |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200006256 |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=www.efloras.org}}</ref>
|Yes
|-
|
|''Fagus mexicana'' {{Small|Martínez}}
|''Fagus''
|Narrow endemic sister species of ''F. grandifolia. F. mexicana'' differs from ''F. grandifolia'' by its slender leaves and less-evolved but more polymorphic set of alleles (higher level of [[Zygosity|heterozygosity]])<ref name="Cardoni-2021" /><ref name="Jiang-2022" />
|[[Hidalgo (state)|Hidalgo]], Mexico; at 1400–2000 m a.s.l. as an element of the subtropical montane mesophilic forest"([https://www.gob.mx/conabio/prensa/bosques-mesofilos-de-montana-de-mexico?idiom=es bosque mesófilo de montaña]) superimposing the tropical lowland rainforests.
|No, populations included in ''F. grandifolia''
|-
| ||''[[Fagus multinervis]]'' {{small|Nakai}}
|''Englerianae''
|Narrow endemic species, first diverging lineage within subgenus ''Englerianae''<ref name="Cardoni-2021" /><ref name="Jiang-2022" />|| South Korea ([[Ulleungdo]])
|Yes
|-
|[[File:Fagus orientalis near Fioletovo village, Armenia S-N 04.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Fagus orientalis]]'' {{small|[[Vladimir Ippolitovich Lipsky|Lipsky]]}} – Oriental beech (in a narrow sense)
|''Fagus''
|Sister species of ''F. sylvatica''<ref name="Gömöry-2018" /><ref name="Kurz-2023" />||Southeastern Europe (SE [[Bulgaria]], NE [[Greece]], [[East Thrace|European Turkey]]) and adjacent northwestern Asia (NW and N [[Anatolia]]) 
|No, treated as subspecies of ''F. sylvatica''
|-
| ||''[[Fagus pashanica]]'' {{small|C.C.Yang}} 
|''Fagus''
|Continental sister species of ''F. hayatae'', with a set of alleles that puts it closer to ''F. longipetiolata'' and ''F. crenata'' than its insular sister.|| China (Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang), at 1300–2300 m a.s.l.(eFlora of China, as ''F. hayatae''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fagus hayatae in Flora of China @ efloras.org |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200006254 |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=www.efloras.org}}</ref>) 
|Yes
|-
| ||''[[Fagus sinensis]]'' {{small|Oliv.}} 
|''Fagus''
|Invalid; the original material included material from two much different species: ''F. engleriana'' and ''F. longipetiolata''<ref name="Denk-2024" /><ref name="Denk-2003" />|| China (Hubei), Vietnam
|Yes, erroneously used as older synonym of ''F. longipetiolata''
|-
|[[File:Fagus sylvatica 019.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Fagus sylvatica]]'' {{small|[[L.]]}} – European beech
|''Fagus''
|Sister species of and closely related to ''F. orientalis''<ref name="Gömöry-2018" /><ref name="Kurz-2023" />|| Europe
|Yes
|-
|}

===Natural and potential hybrids===
{| class="wikitable collapsible"
|-
! Image !! Name !! Parentage 
!Status!!Distribution 
|-
|
|[[Fagus × moesiaca|''Fagus'' (''×'') ''moesiaca'']] {{Small|(K. Malý) Czeczott}}
|''F. sylvatica'' × ''F. orientalis''
|No evidence so far for hybrid origin. All individuals addressed as ''F. moesiaca'' included in genetic studies fell within the variation of ''F. sylvatica.''<ref name="Denk-2005" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ulaszewski |first1=Bartosz |last2=Meger |first2=Joanna |last3=Mishra |first3=Bagdevi |last4=Thines |first4=Marco |last5=Burczyk |first5=Jarosław |date=2021 |title=Complete Chloroplast Genomes of Fagus sylvatica L. Reveal Sequence Conservation in the Inverted Repeat and the Presence of Allelic Variation in NUPTs |journal=Genes |language=en |volume=12 |issue=9 |pages=1357 |doi=10.3390/genes12091357 |doi-access=free |issn=2073-4425 |pmc=8468245 |pmid=34573338}}</ref> They may represent a lowland ecotype of ''F. sylvatica.''<ref name="Denk-2024" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Denk |first=Th. |date=January 1999 |title=The taxonomy of Fagus in western Eurasia. 2: Fagus sylvatica subsp. sylvatica |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fedr.19991100510 |journal=Feddes Repertorium |language=en |volume=110 |issue=5–6 |pages=381–412 |doi=10.1002/fedr.19991100510 |issn=0014-8962|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Erroneously synonymized by some authors (e.g. POWO) with the Crimean ''F. × taurica,'' from which it differs morphologically and genetically.
|Southeastern [[Balkans]]
|-
|
|''Fagus okamotoi'' {{Small|Shen}}
|''F. crenata'' × ''F. japonica'' ?
|Unique phenotype, described from an area in which ''F. crenata'' and ''F. japonica'' are sympatric. So far, there is no genetic evidence for ongoing gene flow between the two Japanese species, which belong to different subgeneric lineages.
|[[Kantō region|Kanto]], eastern Honshu
|-
|[[File:Bukva 2.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Fagus × taurica]]'' {{small|[[Popl.]]}} – Crimean beech|| ''F. sylvatica'' × ''F. orientalis'' s.l.
|Hybrid status not yet tested by genetic data; according to [[Isozyme|isoenzyme]] profiles a less-evolved, relict population of ''F. sylvatica'' or intermediate between ''F. sylvatica'' and the species complex historically addressed as Oriental beech (''F. orientalis'' in a broad sense)<ref name="Gömöry-2010" />||Crimean peninsula
|-
|}

===Phylogeny===

A cladogram of 11 beech species is shown below.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Jiang, Lu |display-authors=etal |title=Phylogeny and biogeography of Fagus (Fagaceae) based on 28 nuclear single/low-copy loci |journal=Journal of Systematics and Evolution |date=10 October 2020 |volume=60 |issue=4 |pages=759–772 |doi=10.1111/jse.12695 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jse.12695|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

{{clade
|label1='''''Fagus'''''
|1={{clade
   |label1=subg. ''Engleriana''
   |1={{clade
      |1=''F. multinervis''
      |2={{clade
         |1=''F. engleriana''
         |2=''F. japonica''
         }}
      }}
   |label2=subg. ''Fagus''
   |2={{clade
      |label1=sect. ''Grandifolia''
      |1={{clade
         |1=''F. grandifolia''
         |2=''F. mexicana''
         }}
      |2={{clade
         |label1=sect. ''Fagus''
         |1={{clade
            |1=''F. orientalis''
            |2=''F. sylvatica''
            }}
         |label2=sect. ''Lucida''
         |2={{clade
            |1=''F. hayatae''
            |2={{clade
               |1=''F. crenata''
               |2={{clade
                  |1=''F. longipetiolata''
                  |2=''F. lucida''
                  }}
               }}
            }}
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}

===Fossil species===
Numerous species have been named globally from the fossil record spanning from the [[Cretaceous]] to the [[Pleistocene]].<ref name="IFPNI-2023">{{cite web |url=http://ifpni.org/genus.htm?id=3EE9EA96-C4DC-4621-B6EB-697227CF797B |website=The International Fossil Plant Names Index |title=''Fagus'' |accessdate=6 Feb 2023}}</ref> 
{{div col}}
*†''[[Fagus aburatoensis]]'' {{small|Tanai, 1951}}<ref name="Tanai-1952">{{cite journal |last1=Tanai |first1=T. |title=Des fossiles végétaux dans le bassin houiller de Nishitagawa, Préfecture de Yamagata, Japon |journal=Japanese Journal of Geology and Geography |volume=22 |pages=119–135}}</ref> 
*†''[[Fagus alnitifolia]]'' {{small|[[Arthur Hollick|Hollick]]}}<ref name="Brown-1937">{{cite report |last1=Brown |first1=R. W. |year=1937 |title=Additions to some fossil floras of the Western United States |series=Professional Paper |publisher=United States Geological Survey |volume=186 |pages=163–206 |doi=10.3133/pp186J |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0186j/report.pdf}}</ref>
*†''[[Fagus altaensis]]'' {{small|Kornilova & Rajushkina, 1979}}
*†''[[Fagus ambigua]]'' {{small|(Massalongo) Massalongo, 1853}}
*†''[[Fagus angusta]]'' {{small|Andreánszky, 1959}}
*†''[[Fagus antipofii]]'' {{small|Heer, 1858}}
*†''[[Fagus aperta]]'' {{small|Andreánszky, 1959}}
*†''[[Fagus arduinorum]]'' {{small|Massalongo, 1858}}
*†''[[Fagus aspera (Berry) Brown|Fagus aspera]]'' {{small|(Berry) Brown, 1944}}
*†''[[Fagus aspera (Chelebaeva)|Fagus aspera]]'' {{small|Chelebaeva, 2005}} (jr homonym)
*†''[[Fagus atlantica]]'' {{small|Unger, 1847}}
*†''[[Fagus attenuata]]'' {{small|Göppert, 1855}}
*†''[[Fagus aurelianii]]'' {{small|Marion & Laurent, 1895}}
*†''[[Fagus australis]]'' {{small|Oliver, 1936}}
*†''[[Fagus betulifolia]]'' {{small|Massalongo, 1858}}
*†''[[Fagus bonnevillensis]]'' {{small|Chaney, 1920}}
*†''[[Fagus castaneifolia]]'' {{small|Unger, 1847}}
*†''[[Fagus celastrifolia]]'' {{small|Ettingshausen, 1887}}
*†''[[Fagus ceretana]]'' {{small|(Rérolle) Saporta, 1892}}
*†''[[Fagus chamaephegos]]'' {{small|Unger, 1861}}
*†''[[Fagus chankaica]]'' {{small|Alexeenko, 1977}}
*†''[[Fagus chiericii]]'' {{small|Massalongo, 1858}}
*†''[[Fagus chinensis]]'' {{small|Li, 1978}}
*†''[[Fagus coalita]]'' {{small|Rylova, 1996}}
*†''[[Fagus cordifolia]]'' {{small|Heer, 1883}}
*†''[[Fagus cretacea]]'' {{small|Newberry, 1868}}
*†''[[Fagus decurrens]]'' {{small|Reid & Reid, 1915}}
*†''[[Fagus dentata]]'' {{small|Göppert, 1855}}
*†''[[Fagus deucalionis]]'' {{small|Unger, 1847}}
*†''[[Fagus dubia (Mirb)|Fagus dubia]]'' {{small|Mirb, 1822}}
*†''[[Fagus dubia (Watelet)|Fagus dubia]]'' {{small|Watelet, 1866}} (jr homonym)
*†''[[Fagus echinata]]'' {{small|Chelebaeva, 2005}}
*†''[[Fagus eocenica]]'' {{small|Watelet, 1866}}
*†''[[Fagus etheridgei]]'' {{small|Ettingshausen, 1891}}
*†''[[Fagus ettingshausenii]]'' {{small|Velenovský, 1881}}
*†''[[Fagus europaea]]'' {{small|Schwarewa, 1960}}
*†''[[Fagus evenensis]]'' {{small|Chelebaeva, 1980}}
*†''[[Fagus faujasii]]'' {{small|Unger, 1850}}
*†''[[Fagus feroniae]]'' {{small|Unger, 1845}}
*†''[[Fagus florinii]]'' {{small|Huzioka & Takahashi, 1973}}
*†''[[Fagus forumlivii]]'' {{small|Massalongo, 1853}}
*†''[[Fagus friedrichii]]'' {{small|Grímsson & Denk, 2005}}
*†''[[Fagus gortanii]]'' {{small|Fiori, 1940}}
*†''[[Fagus grandifoliiformis]]'' {{small|Panova, 1966}}
*†''[[Fagus gussonii]]'' {{small|Massalongo, 1858}}
*†''[[Fagus haidingeri]]'' {{small|Kováts, 1856}}
*†''[[Fagus herthae]]'' {{small|(Unger) Iljinskaja, 1964}}
*†''[[Fagus hitchcockii]]'' {{small|Lesquereux, 1861}}
*†''[[Fagus hondoensis]]'' {{small|(Watari) Watari, 1952}}
*†''[[Fagus hookeri]]'' {{small|Ettingshausen, 1887}}
*†''[[Fagus horrida]]'' {{small|Ludwig, 1858}}
*†''[[Fagus humata]]'' {{small|Menge & Göppert, 1886}}
*†''[[Fagus idahoensis]]'' {{small|Chaney & Axelrod, 1959}}
*†''[[Fagus inaequalis]]'' {{small|Göppert, 1855}}
*†''[[Fagus incerta]]'' {{small|(Massalongo) Massalongo, 1858}}
*†''[[Fagus integrifolia]]'' {{small|Dusén, 1899}}
*†''[[Fagus intermedia]]'' {{small|Nathorst, 1888}}
*†''[[Fagus irvajamensis]]'' {{small|Chelebaeva, 1980}}
*†''[[Fagus japoniciformis]]'' {{small|Ananova, 1974}}
*†''[[Fagus japonicoides]]'' {{small|Miki, 1963}}
*†''[[Fagus jobanensis]]'' {{small|Suzuki, 1961}}
*†''[[Fagus jonesii]]'' {{small|Johnston, 1892}}
*†''[[Fagus juliae]]'' {{small|Jakubovskaya, 1975}}
*†''[[Fagus kitamiensis]]'' {{small|Tanai, 1995}}
*†''[[Fagus koraica]]'' {{small|Huzioka, 1951}}
*†''[[Fagus kraeuselii]]'' {{small|Kvaček & Walther, 1991}}
*†''[[Fagus kuprianoviae]]'' {{small|Rylova, 1996}}
*†''[[Fagus lancifolia]]'' {{small|Heer, 1868}} (nomen nudum)
*†''[[Fagus langevinii]]'' {{small|Manchester & Dillhoff, 2004}}<ref name="Manchester-2004">{{cite journal |last1=Manchester |first1=S. R. |last2=Dillhoff |first2=R. M. |title=''Fagus'' (Fagaceae) fruits, foliage, and pollen from the Middle Eocene of Pacific Northwestern North America |journal=Canadian Journal of Botany |volume=82 |issue=10 |pages=1509–1517 |doi=10.1139/b04-112|year=2004 |bibcode=2004CaJB...82.1509M }}</ref>
*†''[[Fagus laptoneura]]'' {{small|Ettingshausen, 1895}}
*†''[[Fagus latissima]]'' {{small|Andreánszky, 1959}}
*†''[[Fagus leptoneuron]]'' {{small|Ettingshausen, 1893}}
*†''[[Fagus macrophylla]]'' {{small|Unger, 1854}}
*†''[[Fagus maorica]]'' {{small|Oliver, 1936}}
*†''[[Fagus marsillii]]'' {{small|Massalongo, 1858}}
*†''[[Fagus menzelii]]'' {{small|Kvaček & Walther, 1991}}
*†''[[Fagus microcarpa]]'' {{small|Miki, 1933}}
*†''[[Fagus miocenica]]'' {{small|Ananova, 1974}}
*†''[[Fagus napanensis]]'' {{small|Iljinskaja, 1982}}
*†''[[Fagus nelsonica]]'' {{small|Ettingshausen, 1887}}
*†''[[Fagus oblonga (Suzuki)|Fagus oblonga]]'' {{small|Suzuki, 1959}}
*†''[[Fagus oblonga (Andreánszky)|Fagus oblonga]]'' {{small|Andreánszky, 1959}}
*†''[[Fagus obscura]]'' {{small|Dusén, 1908}}
*†''[[Fagus olejnikovii]]'' {{small|Pavlyutkin, 2015}}
*†''[[Fagus orbiculatum]]'' {{small|Lesquereux, 1892}}
*†''[[Fagus orientaliformis]]'' {{small|Kul'kova}}
*†[[Fagus orientalis|''Fagus orientalis'' var ''fossilis'']] {{small|Kryshtofovich & Baikovskaja, 1951}}
*†[[Fagus orientalis|''Fagus orientalis'' var ''palibinii'']] {{small|Iljinskaja, 1982}}
*†''[[Fagus pacifica]]'' {{small|Chaney, 1927}}
*†''[[Fagus palaeococcus]]'' {{small|Unger, 1847}}
*†''[[Fagus palaeocrenata]]'' {{small|Okutsu, 1955}}
*†''[[Fagus palaeograndifolia]]'' {{small|Pavlyutkin, 2002}}
*†''[[Fagus palaeojaponica]]'' {{small|Tanai & Onoe, 1961}}
*†''[[Fagus pittmanii]]'' {{small|Deane, 1902}}
*†''[[Fagus pliocaenica]]'' {{small|Geyler & Kinkelin, 1887}} (jr homonym)
*†''[[Fagus pliocenica]]'' {{small|Saporta, 1882}}
*†''[[Fagus polycladus]]'' {{small|Lesquereux, 1868}}
*†''[[Fagus praelucida]]'' {{small|Li, 1982}}
*†''[[Fagus praeninnisiana]]'' {{small|Ettingshausen, 1893}}
*†''[[Fagus praeulmifolia]]'' {{small|Ettingshausen, 1893}}
*†''[[Fagus prisca]]'' {{small|Ettingshausen, 1867}}
*†''[[Fagus pristina]]'' {{small|Saporta, 1867}}
*†''[[Fagus producta]]'' {{small|Ettingshausen, 1887}}
*†''[[Fagus protojaponica]]'' {{small|Suzuki, 1959}}
*†''[[Fagus protolongipetiolata]]'' {{small|Huzioka, 1951}}
*†''[[Fagus protonucifera]]'' {{small|Dawson, 1884}}
*†''[[Fagus pseudoferruginea]]'' {{small|Lesquereux, 1878}}
*†''[[Fagus pygmaea]]'' {{small|Unger, 1861}}
*†''[[Fagus pyrrhae]]'' {{small|Unger, 1854}}
*†''[[Fagus salnikovii]]'' {{small|Fotjanova, 1988}}
*†''[[Fagus sanctieugeniensis]]'' {{small|Hollick, 1927}}
*†''[[Fagus saxonica]]'' {{small|Kvaček & Walther, 1991}}
*†''[[Fagus schofieldii]]'' {{small|Mindell, Stockey, & Beard, 2009}}
*†''[[Fagus septembris]]'' {{small|Chelebaeva, 1991}}
*†''[[Fagus shagiana]]'' {{small|Ettingshausen, 1891}}
*†''[[Fagus stuxbergii]]'' {{small|Tanai, 1976}}
*†''[[Fagus subferruginea]]'' {{small|Wilf ''et al.'', 2005}}<ref name="Wilf-2005">{{cite journal |last1=Wilf |first1=P. |last2=Johnson |first2=K.R. |last3=Cúneo |first3=N.R. |last4=Smith |first4=M.E. |last5=Singer |first5=B.S. |last6=Gandolfo |first6=M.A. |year=2005 |title=Eocene Plant Diversity at Laguna del Hunco and Río Pichileufú, Patagonia, Argentina |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312253100 |journal=[[The American Naturalist]] |volume=165 |issue=6 |pages=634–650 |access-date=2019-02-22|doi=10.1086/430055 |pmid=15937744 |bibcode=2005ANat..165..634W |s2cid=3209281 }}</ref>
*†''[[Fagus succinea]]'' {{small|Göppert & Menge, 1853}}
*†[[Fagus sylvatica|''Fagus sylvatica'' var ''diluviana'']] {{small|Saporta, 1892}}
*†[[Fagus sylvatica|''Fagus sylvatica'' var ''pliocenica'']] {{small|Saporta, 1873}}
*†''[[Fagus tenella]]'' {{small|Panova, 1966}}
*†''[[Fagus uemurae]]'' {{small|Tanai, 1995}}
*†''[[Fagus uotanii]]'' {{small|Huzioka, 1951}}
*†''[[Fagus vivianii]]'' {{small|Unger, 1850}}
*†''[[Fagus washoensis]]'' {{small|LaMotte, 1936}}
{{div col end}}
Fossil species formerly placed in ''Fagus'' include:<ref name="IFPNI-2023"/>
{{div col}}
*†''[[Alnus paucinervis]]'' {{small|(Borsuk) Iljinskaja}}
*†''[[Castanea abnormalis]]'' {{small|(Fotjanova) Iljinskaja}}
*†''[[Fagopsis longifolia]]'' {{small|(Lesquereux) Hollick}}
*†''[[Fagopsis undulata]]'' {{small|(Knowlton) Wolfe & Wehr}}
*†''[[Fagoxylon grandiporosum]]'' {{small|(Beyer) Süss}}
*†''[[Fagus-pollenites parvifossilis]]'' {{small|(Traverse) Potonié}}
*†''[[Juglans ginannii]]'' {{small|Massalongo}} (new name for ''F. ginannii'')
*†''[[Nothofagaphyllites novae-zealandiae]]'' {{small|(Oliver) Campbell}}
*†''[[Nothofagus benthamii]]'' {{small|(Ettingshausen) Paterson}}
*†''[[Nothofagus dicksonii]]'' {{small|(Dusén) Tanai}}
*†''[[Nothofagus lendenfeldii]]'' {{small|(Ettingshausen) Oliver}}
*†''[[Nothofagus luehmannii]]'' {{small|(Deane) Paterson}}
*†''[[Nothofagus magelhaenica]]'' {{small|(Ettingshausen) Dusén}}
*†''[[Nothofagus maidenii]]'' {{small|(Deane) Chapman}}
*†''[[Nothofagus muelleri]]'' {{small|(Ettingshausen) Paterson}}
*†''[[Nothofagus ninnisiana]]'' {{small|(Unger) Oliver}}
*†''[[Nothofagus risdoniana]]'' {{small|(Ettingshausen) Paterson}}
*†''[[Nothofagus ulmifolia]]'' {{small|(Ettingshausen) Oliver}}
*†''[[Nothofagus wilkinsonii]]'' {{small|(Ettingshausen) Paterson}}
*†''[[Trigonobalanus minima]]'' {{small|(M. Chandler) Mai}}
{{div col end}}

=== Etymology ===
The name of the tree in Latin, ''fagus'' (from whence the [[generic epithet]]), is cognate with English "beech" and of [[Indo-European language|Indo-European]] origin, and played an important role in early debates on the geographical origins of the [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European people]], the [[beech argument]]. [[Greek language|Greek]] φηγός (figós) is from the same root, but the word was transferred to the oak tree (e.g. Iliad 16.767) as a result of the absence of beech trees in southern [[Greece]].<ref>Robert Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Leiden and Boston 2010, pp. 1565–6</ref>

== Distribution and habitat ==
[[File:Grib skov.jpg|thumb|European beech (''[[Fagus sylvatica]]'')]]
[[File:Beeches, Ehrenbach.jpg|thumb|Beeches in [[Ehrenbach]], Germany]]
[[File:Beech with Branches.jpg|thumb|upright|[[North American beech]], seen in autumn]]
[[File:Fagus engleriana - Morris Arboretum - DSC00475.JPG|thumb|Chinese beech (''[[Fagus engleriana]]'')]]

=== Britain and Ireland ===
''[[Fagus sylvatica]]'' was a late entrant to Great Britain after the last glaciation, and may have been restricted to basic soils in the south of England. Some suggest that it was introduced by Neolithic tribes who planted the trees for their edible nuts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/di/faga/fagus/fagusylv.jpg |title= Map|website=linnaeus.nrm.se |format=JPG|access-date=2019-08-07}}</ref> The beech is classified as a native in the south of England and as a non-native in the north where it is often removed from 'native' woods.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf/WebPressReleases/1A301105A92950FE80257012002508A0 |title=International Foresters Study Lake District's greener, friendlier forests |publisher=Forestry Commission |access-date=4 August 2010 |archive-date=28 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128215333/http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf/WebPressReleases/1A301105A92950FE80257012002508A0 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Large areas of the [[Chilterns]] are covered with beech woods, which are habitat to the [[common bluebell]] and other flora. The [[Cwm Clydach National Nature Reserve]] in southeast Wales was designated for its beech woodlands, which are believed to be on the western edge of their natural range in this steep limestone gorge.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ccw.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/protecting-our-landscape/special-landscapes--sites/protected-landscapes/national-nature-reserves/cwm-clydach.aspx |title=Cwm Clydach |publisher=Countryside Council for Wales Landscape & wildlife |access-date=4 August 2010 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925090500/http://www.ccw.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/protecting-our-landscape/special-landscapes--sites/protected-landscapes/national-nature-reserves/cwm-clydach.aspx |archive-date=25 September 2010 }}</ref>

Beech is not native to Ireland; however, it was widely planted in the 18th century and can become a problem shading out the native woodland understory.

Beech is widely planted for hedging and in deciduous woodlands, and mature, regenerating stands occur throughout mainland Britain at elevations below about {{convert|650|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book |first1=C.D. |last1=Preston |first2=D. |last2=Pearman |first3=T.D. |last3=Dines |title=New Atlas of the British Flora |publisher=Oxford University Press |location= |date=2002 |isbn=978-0-19-851067-3 |pages= |url=}}</ref> The tallest and longest hedge in the world (according to ''[[Guinness World Records]]'') is the [[Meikleour Beech Hedges|Meikleour Beech Hedge]] in [[Meikleour]], [[Perth and Kinross]], Scotland.

=== Continental Europe ===
''Fagus sylvatica'' is one of the most common hardwood trees in north-central Europe, in France constituting alone about 15% of all nonconifers. [[Balkans|The Balkans]] are also home to the lesser-known oriental beech (''F.&nbsp;orientalis'') and Crimean beech (''F.&nbsp;taurica'').

As a naturally growing forest tree, beech marks the important border between the European deciduous forest zone and the northern pine forest zone. This border is important for wildlife and fauna.

In [[Denmark]] and Scania at the southernmost peak of the Scandinavian peninsula, southwest of the natural [[spruce]] boundary, it is the most common forest tree.  It grows naturally in Denmark and southern [[Norway]] and Sweden up to about 57–59°N. The most northern known naturally growing (not planted) beech trees are found in a small grove north of [[Bergen]] on the west coast of Norway. Near the city of [[Larvik]] is the largest naturally occurring beech forest in Norway, [[Bøkeskogen]].

Some research suggests that early agriculture patterns supported the spread of beech in continental Europe. Research has linked the establishment of beech stands in Scandinavia and Germany with cultivation and fire disturbance, i.e. early agricultural practices. Other areas which have a long history of cultivation, [[Bulgaria]] for example, do not exhibit this pattern, so how much human activity has influenced the spread of beech trees is as yet unclear.<ref name="Bradshaw-2010">{{cite journal |last1=Bradshaw |first1=R.H.W. |first2=N. |last2=Kito and |first3=T. |last3=Giesecke |title=Factors influencing the Holocene history of Fagus |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |volume=259 |issue=11 |pages=2204–12 |date=2010 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2009.11.035 |bibcode=2010ForEM.259.2204B |url=}}</ref>

The [[Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe|primeval beech forests of the Carpathians]] are also an example of a singular, complete, and comprehensive forest dominated by a single tree species - the beech tree. Forest dynamics here were allowed to proceed without interruption or interference since the last ice age. Nowadays, they are amongst the last pure beech forests in Europe to document the undisturbed postglacial repopulation of the species, which also includes the unbroken existence of typical animals and plants. These virgin beech forests and similar forests across 12 countries in continental Europe were inscribed on the [[World Heritage Site|UNESCO World Heritage List]] in 2007.<ref name = "unesco">{{cite web |url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1133 |title = Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe |website = UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher = United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization |access-date = 13 November 2021}}</ref>

=== North America ===
The American beech (''Fagus grandifolia'') occurs across much of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, with a disjunct sister species in Mexico (''F. mexicana''). It is the only extant (surviving) ''Fagus'' species in the Western Hemisphere. Before the [[Pleistocene]] Ice Age, it is believed to have spanned the entire width of the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific but now is confined to the east of the Great Plains. ''F. grandifolia'' tolerates hotter climates than European species but is not planted much as an ornamental due to slower growth and less resistance to urban pollution. It most commonly occurs as an overstory component in the northern part of its range with sugar maple, transitioning to other forest types further south such as beech-magnolia. American beech is rarely encountered in developed areas except as a remnant of a forest that was cut down for land development.

The dead brown leaves of the American beech remain on the branches until well into the following spring, when the new buds finally push them off.

=== Asia ===
East Asia is home to eight species of ''Fagus'', only one of which (''F.&nbsp;crenata'') is occasionally planted in Western countries. Smaller than ''F.&nbsp;sylvatica'' and ''F.&nbsp;grandifolia'', this beech is one of the most common hardwoods in its native range.

== Ecology ==
Beech grows on a wide range of soil types, acidic or basic, provided they are not waterlogged. The tree canopy casts dense shade and thickens the ground with [[leaf litter]].

In North America, they can form [[Beech-maple forest|beech-maple]] [[climax community|climax]] forests by partnering with the [[sugar maple]].

The [[beech blight aphid]] (''Grylloprociphilus imbricator'') is a common pest of American beech trees. Beeches are also used as food plants by some species of [[Lepidoptera]].

Beech bark is extremely thin and scars easily. Since the beech tree has such delicate bark, carvings, such as lovers' initials and other forms of graffiti, remain because the tree is unable to heal itself.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Gale |first2=Adelaide |last2=Tyrol |title=A Field Guide to the Familiar: Learning to Observe the Natural World |publisher=Prentice-Hall |location= |date=1984 |isbn=978-0-13-314071-2 |pages=75–76 |url=}}</ref>

=== Diseases ===

[[Beech bark disease]] is a fungal infection that attacks the American beech through damage caused by scale insects.<ref>"beech." The Columbia Encyclopedia. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. Credo Reference. Web. 17 September 2012.</ref> Infection can lead to the death of the tree.<ref>{{cite book |first= |last= |chapter=beech bark disease |chapter-url= |editor= |title=Dictionary of Microbiology & Molecular Biology |publisher=Wiley |location= |date=2006 |isbn=978-0-470-03545-0 |pages= |url=}} Credo Reference. Web. 27 September 2012.</ref>

[[Beech leaf disease]] is a disease that affects American beeches spread by the newly discovered nematode, ''[[Litylenchus crenatae mccannii]]''. This disease was first discovered in Lake County, Ohio, in 2012 and has now spread to over 41 counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, Canada.<ref>{{cite news |last=Crowley |first=Brendan |date=2020-09-28 |title=Deadly 'Beech Leaf Disease' Identified Across Connecticut and Rhode Island |work=The Connecticut Examiner |url=https://ctexaminer.com/2020/09/28/deadly-beech-leaf-disease-identified-across-connecticut-and-rhode-island/ |access-date=2020-11-15}}</ref>
As of 2024, the disease has become widespread in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and in portions of coastal New Hampshire and coastal and central Maine.<ref>University of New Hampshire</ref>

== Cultivation ==
The beech most commonly grown as an [[ornamental tree]] is the European beech (''Fagus sylvatica''), widely cultivated in North America as well as its native Europe. Many varieties are in cultivation, notably the weeping beech ''F.&nbsp;sylvatica'' 'Pendula', several varieties of copper or purple beech, the fern-leaved beech ''F.&nbsp;sylvatica'' 'Asplenifolia', and the tricolour beech ''F.&nbsp;sylvatica'' 'Roseomarginata'. The columnar Dawyck beech (''F.&nbsp;sylvatica'' 'Dawyck') occurs in green, gold, and purple forms, named after [[Dawyck Botanic Garden]] in the Scottish Borders, one of the four garden sites of the [[Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh]].

== Uses ==
[[File:Eugène Atget - Beech Tree - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''Beech Tree'' photographed by [[Eugène Atget]], ''circa'' 1910–1915]]

===Wood===
Beech wood is an excellent [[firewood]], easily split and burning for many hours with bright but calm flames. Slats of beech wood are washed in caustic soda to leach out any flavour or aroma characteristics and are spread around the bottom of fermentation tanks for [[Budweiser]] beer. This provides a complex surface on which the yeast can settle, so that it does not pile up, preventing yeast [[autolysis (biology)|autolysis]] which would contribute off-flavours to the beer.{{Citation needed|date= March 2018}} Beech logs are burned to dry the [[malt]] used in German [[smoked beer]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.schlenkerla.de/rauchbier/prozess/prozess.html |title=Der Brauprozeß von Schlenkerla Rauchbier |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2011 |website=Schlenkerla - die historische Rauchbierbrauerei |publisher=Schlenkerla |language=de |access-date=11 December 2020}}</ref> Beech is also used to smoke [[Westphalian ham]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.germanfoods.org/consumer/facts/guidetoham.cfm |title=GermanFoods.org - Guide to German Sausages and German Hams |access-date=2012-05-17 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121123232931/http://www.germanfoods.org/consumer/facts/guidetoham.cfm |archive-date=2012-11-23 }}</ref> traditional [[andouille]] (an offal sausage) from Normandy,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cookthink.com/reference/823/What_is_andouille |title=What is andouille? &#124; Cookthink |access-date=2012-11-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512015109/http://www.cookthink.com/reference/823/What_is_andouille |archive-date=2012-05-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and some cheeses.

Some drums are made from beech, which has a tone between those of [[maple]] and [[birch]], the two most popular drum woods.

The textile [[Modal (textile)|modal]] is a kind of [[rayon]] often made wholly from reconstituted [[cellulose]] of pulped beech wood.<ref>holistic-interior-designs.com, ''[http://www.holistic-interior-designs.com/modal-fabric.html Modal Fabric] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009010337/http://www.holistic-interior-designs.com/modal-fabric.html |date=2011-10-09 }}'', retrieved 9 October 2011</ref><ref>uniformreuse.co.uk, ''[http://www.uniformreuse.co.uk/fabric_modal.html?KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=460&width=800 Modal data sheet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024015844/http://www.uniformreuse.co.uk/fabric_modal.html?KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=460&width=800 |date=2011-10-24 }}'', retrieved 9 October 2011</ref><ref>fabricstockexchange.com, ''[http://www.fabricstockexchange.com/blog/resources/fiber-dictionary/ Modal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925102655/http://fabricstockexchange.com/blog/resources/fiber-dictionary/ |date=2011-09-25 }}'' (dictionary entry), retrieved 9 October 2011</ref>

The European species ''Fagus sylvatica'' yields a tough, utility timber. It weighs about 720&nbsp;kg per cubic metre and is widely used for furniture construction, flooring, and engineering purposes, in plywood and household items, but rarely as a decorative wood. The timber can be used to build chalets, houses, and log cabins.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Skarvelis | first1=Michalis | last2=Mantanis | first2=George I. | title=Physical and mechanical properties of beech wood harvested in the Greek public forests | journal=Wood Research | publisher=Pulp and Paper Research Institute | volume=58 | issue=1 | date=2012-12-29 | issn=1336-4561 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237840835 | access-date=2024-12-24 | pages=123–130}}</ref>

Beech wood is used for the stocks of military rifles when traditionally preferred woods such as [[Juglans#Wood|walnut]] are scarce or unavailable or as a lower-cost alternative.<ref name="Walter-2006">{{cite book |first=J. |last=Walter |title=Rifles of the World |publisher=Krause Publications |edition=3rd |date=2006 |isbn=978-0-89689-241-5 |pages= |url=}}</ref>

===Food===
The edible fruit of the beech tree,<ref name="Lyle-2010" /> known as beechnuts or mast, is found in small burrs that drop from the tree in autumn. They are small, roughly triangular, and edible, with a bitter, astringent, or in some cases, mild and nut-like taste. According to the Roman statesman [[Pliny the Elder]] in his work [[Natural History (Pliny)|''Natural History'']], beechnut was eaten by the people of [[Chios]] when the town was besieged, writing of the fruit: "that of the beech is the sweetest of all; so much so, that, according to Cornelius Alexander, the people of the city of Chios, when besieged, supported themselves wholly on mast".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://interestingearth.com/how_did_beech_mast_save_the_people_of_chios.html|title=How did beech mast save the people of Chios? - Interesting Earth|website=interestingearth.com|access-date=2019-10-07}}</ref> They can also be roasted and pulverized into an adequate [[coffee substitute]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/277203364 |title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants |publisher=[[Skyhorse Publishing]] |author=[[United States Department of the Army]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-60239-692-0 |location=New York |pages=29 |language=en-US |oclc=277203364}}</ref> The leaves can be steeped in liquor to give a light green/yellow liqueur.

===Books===
[[File:Venus with a Mirror (study).jpg|thumb|Painting on beech wood - 1511]]
In antiquity, the bark of the beech tree was used by [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European people]] for writing-related purposes, especially in a religious context.<ref>{{cite book |first= Saskia |last=Pronk-Tiethoff |title= The Germanic loanwords in Proto-Slavic |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0iWLAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA81 |date= 25 October 2013 |publisher= Rodopi |isbn= 978-94-012-0984-7 |pages= 81}}</ref> Beech wood tablets were a common [[writing material]] in Germanic societies before the development of paper. The Old English ''bōc''<ref>A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Second Edition (1916), [http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/html/oe_clarkhall/b0047.html Blōtan-Boldwela], [[John Richard Clark Hall]]</ref> has the primary sense of "beech" but also a secondary sense of "book", and it is from ''bōc'' that the modern word derives.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=book |title= Book |author= Douglas Harper |work= Online Etymological Dictionary |access-date= 2011-11-18}}</ref> In modern German, the word for "book" is ''Buch,'' with ''Buche'' meaning "beech tree". In modern Dutch, the word for "book" is ''boek,'' with ''beuk'' meaning "beech tree". In Swedish, these words are the same, ''bok'' meaning both "beech tree" and "book". There is a similar relationship in some Slavic languages. In Russian and [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], the word for beech is [[:wikt:бук|бук]] (''buk''), while that for "letter" (as in a letter of the alphabet) is буква (''bukva''), while [[Serbo-Croatian language|Serbo-Croatian]] and [[Slovene language|Slovene]] use "[[:wikt:bukva|bukva]]" to refer to the tree.

===Other===
The pigment [[bistre]] was made from beech wood [[soot]]. Beech [[Plant litter|litter]] raking as a replacement for straw in [[animal husbandry]] was an old non-timber practice in forest management that once occurred in parts of [[Switzerland]] in the 17th century.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Three objectives of historical ecology: the case of litter collecting in Central European forests |author= Bürgi, M. |author2=Gimmi, U. |year= 2007 |doi= 10.1007/s10980-007-9128-0 |journal= Landscape Ecology |volume= 22 |issue= S1 |pages= 77–87|bibcode= 2007LaEco..22S..77B |hdl= 20.500.11850/58945 |s2cid= 21130814 |url= http://doc.rero.ch/record/316425/files/10980_2007_Article_9128.pdf |hdl-access= free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title= Soil carbon pools in Swiss forests show legacy effects from historic forest litter raking |author= Gimmi, U. |author2= Poulter, B. |author3= Wolf, A. |author4= Portner, H. |author5= Weber, P. |author6= Bürgi, M. |year= 2013 |doi= 10.1007/s10980-012-9778-4 |journal= Landscape Ecology |volume= 28 |issue= 5 |pages= 385–846|bibcode= 2013LaEco..28..835G |hdl= 20.500.11850/66782 |s2cid= 16930894 |url= http://doc.rero.ch/record/315772/files/10980_2012_Article_9778.pdf |hdl-access= free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title= Reconstructing European forest management from 1600 to 2010 |author= McGrath, M.J. |year= 2015 |doi= 10.5194/bg-12-4291-2015 |journal= Biogeosciences |volume= 12 |issue= 14 |pages= 4291–4316|display-authors=etal|bibcode= 2015BGeo...12.4291M |doi-access= free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title= Consequence of litter removal on pedogenesis: A case study in Bachs and Irchel (Switzerland) |author= Scalenghe, R. |author2= Minoja, A.P. |author3= Zimmermann, S. |author4= Bertini, S. |year= 2016 |doi= 10.1016/j.geoderma.2016.02.024 |journal= Geoderma |volume= 271 |pages= 191–201|bibcode= 2016Geode.271..191S |url= https://zenodo.org/record/889561 }}</ref> Beech has been listed as one of the 38 plants whose flowers are used to prepare [[Bach flower remedies]].<ref name="Vohra-2004">{{cite book|author=D. S. Vohra|title=Bach Flower Remedies: A Comprehensive Study|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=icG8onA0ys8C&pg=PR3|access-date=2 September 2013|date=1 June 2004|publisher=B. Jain Publishers|isbn=978-81-7021-271-3|page=3}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe]]
* [[English Lowlands beech forests]]
* [[Weeping Beech (Queens)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Fagus|beeches}}
{{Wikispecies|Fagus|''Fagus''}}
{{Wiktionary|beech}}
* {{cite web|url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/|title=WCSP |work= World Checklist of Selected Plant Families – Fagus}}
* {{cite web|last=Eichhorn|first=Markus|title=The Beech Tree|url=http://www.test-tube.org.uk/trees/video_beech.htm|work=Test Tube|publisher=[[Brady Haran]] for the [[University of Nottingham]]|date=October 2010}}
* [https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/beech-fagus-sylvatica Traditional and Modern Use of Beech]

{{Nuts}}
{{Woodworking}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q25403|from2=Q14920699}}
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[[Category:Edible nuts and seeds]]
[[Category:Fagus| ]]
[[Category:Ornamental trees]]