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Characteristics
 Family-
Fagaceae--The Beech Family
- Origin
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Native NC
- Plant Description
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Deciduous tree to 50 feet, wide spreading; leaves alternate, elliptical, with teeth along the margins; flowers in March to April, separate sexes, male flowers in drooping ball-like clusters, female flowers tiny; fruits maturing September to October, a triangular nut in a spiny, splitting husk; bark smooth, gray.
- Ornamental Characteristics
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Beautiful form, dark green leaves, smooth bark.
- Landscape Use
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Shade tree.
- Horticultural Cultivars
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None. There is a need for coastal ecotypes in the nursery trade.
- Availability/Propagation
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Available occasionally in nurseries, transplant from the wild (with permission), propagate from seed (nuts) planted outdoors in the fall.
- Culture
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Transplant to moist, well drained, acidic soil, full sun to partial shade. Growth rate is very slow.
- Coastal Ecology
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American beech is a beautiful and stately component of the maritime forest from Cape Hatteras northward, and is seen in pine forests, upland deciduous forests and maple dominated fresh-water swamp forests. The occurrence of beech indicates the transition from the subtropical broadleaf evergreen mairitime forests to the colder, more northern deciduous forests. Beech is not salt tolerant.
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