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Fagus grandifolia

Common name:	American Beech	Family:	Fagaceae
Author:	Ehrh.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	Large quantities of the raw seed may be toxic[159].
Range:	Eastern N. America - New Brunswick to Florida, west to Texas and Ontario.
Habitat:	Rich uplands and mountain slopes, often forming nearly pure forests[82]. In the south of its range it is also found on the margins of streams and swamps[43, 82].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	F. americana[G,P] F. ferruginea[G,P] F. grandifolia ssp. heterophylla[B,P] F. grandifolia var. caroliniana[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	American Beech [FEIS,E,L,B,DEN1,P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	grandifolia = large leaved
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fagales. Beech family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us Us(Amerindian) Us(Colonial)

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 10m by 10m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 4 and is frost tender. It is in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen from October to November. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Canopy, Secondary.

Edible Uses

Coffee Inner bark Leaves Oil Seed.

Young leaves - raw or cooked as a potherb[183]. A very nice mild flavour but the leaves quickly become tough so only the youngest should be used. New growth is usually produced for 2 periods of 3 weeks each year, one in spring and one in mid-summer.
Seed - raw or cooked. Small but very sweet and nutritious[82, 117, 171, 183, 227], it is sold in local markets in Canada and some parts of America[82]. Rich in oil, the seed also contains up to 22% protein[213]. The raw seed should not be eaten in large quantities since it is believed to cause enteritis[159, 226]. It can be dried and ground into a powder, then used with cereal flours in making bread, cakes etc[183]. The germinating seeds can be eaten raw, they are tender, crisp, sweet and nutty[183].
The roasted seed is a coffee substitute[183, 213].
An edible semi-drying oil is obtained from the seed[177, 183].
Inner bark[177]. Dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickening in soups etc or mixed with cereals when making bread[213].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Pectoral Skin Vermifuge.

A decoction of the boiled leaves has been used as a wash and poultice to treat frostbite, burns, poison ivy rash etc[213, 222, 257].
The nuts have been eaten as a vermifuge[222, 257].
A tea made from the bark has been used in the treatment of lung ailments[222, 257]. It has also been used to procure an abortion when the mother was suffering[257].

Other Uses

Charcoal Oil Wood.

The oil obtained from the seed has been used as a fuel in oil lamps[226].
Wood - strong, hard, heavy, very close grained, not durable, difficult to cure[61, 82, 227]. It weighs 43lb per cubic foot[227]. Harvested commercially, it is used for furniture, flooring, tool handles, crates etc[227]. It makes an excellent charcoal and is used in artwork[61, 227].

Cultivation details

Thrives on a light or medium soil[11], doing well on chalk[1], but ill-adapted for heavy wet soils[1].
Young trees are very shade tolerant, but are subject to frost damage so are best grown in a woodland position which will protect them[200].
Although very cold hardy, this species requires hotter summers than are normally experienced in Britain so is not usually a success here and is very slow growing[200].
The seeds are dispersed after the first frosts[227], they are sometimes gathered and sold in local markets in N. America[82, 227]. Good crops are produced every 2 - 3 years in the wild[227].
This species produces suckers[11] and often forms thickets in the wild[227].
Trees have surface-feeding roots and also cast a dense shade, this greatly inhibits the growth of other plants and, especially where a number of the trees are growing together, the ground beneath them is often almost devoid of vegetation[226, 227].

Propagation

Seed - the seed has a short viability and is best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Protect the seed from mice. Germination takes place in the spring. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. The seedlings are slow growing for the first few years and are very susceptible to damage by late frosts.
The seed can also be sown in an outdoor seedbed in the autumn. The seedlings can be left in the open ground for three years before transplanting, but do best if put into their final positions as soon as possible and given some protection from spring frosts.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos) from Lepidoptera and some other life forms
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for the family Fagaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[117] Rosengarten. jnr. F. The Book of Edible Nuts. Walker & Co. 1984 ISBN 0802707699
A very readable and comprehensive guide. Well illustrated.

[159] McPherson. A. and S. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press 1977 ISBN 0-253-28925-4
A nice pocket guide to this region of America.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[226] Lauriault. J. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. 1989 ISBN 0889025649
Very good on identification for non-experts, the book also has a lot of information on plant uses.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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