Fagus sylvatica
European beech · also Common beech
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The European beech is a large deciduous tree with smooth silvery-grey bark and a dense canopy of dark green leaves that turn bronze in the fall. It provides significant shade and produces nuts that are a food source for wildlife. This tree needs ample space and prefers moist, well-drained, sandy, or chalky soils, but its shallow, widespread roots require sheltered locations.
Where it grows
Trees in each city's inventory, with the share of that city's named trees this species accounts for.
- 10,1490.89%—4.0 in
- 6,0303.3%—6.0 in
- 3,9950.58%—2.8 in
- 2,9311.0%42 yr16 in
- 2,0020.88%—13 in
- 7960.18%56 yr17 in
- 5621.1%16 yr1.8 in
- 5230.70%—4.7 in
- 3380.96%—9.8 in
- 2720.10%—6.3 in
- 2700.04%—4.0 in
- 2651.7%19 yr9.8 in
- 2570.34%4.8 yr2.4 in
- 1930.06%6.0 yr2.0 in
- 1530.13%—27 in
- 1290.04%—3.0 in
- 780.11%18 yr2.0 in
- 590.03%6.9 yr3.5 in
- 430.01%—2.4 in
- 400.09%—3.5 in
- 390.34%9.6 yr3.9 in
- 200.08%—14 in
- 150.01%14 yr3.0 in
- 70.06%—7.0 in
- 70.02%—7.9 in
- 40.00%—2.0 in
- 20.00%—10 in
Traits
- Form
- Broadleaf
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Mature height
- 50–80 ft
- Canopy spread
- 50 ft
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Soil
- Chalky, Well-drained, Sandy
- Water needs
- High
- Drought tolerance
- Low
- Roots
- Moderate
- Wildlife value
- High
- Blooms
- Mar, Apr, May
Trunk diameters across every city: median 4.7 in, mean 8.1 in, 90th percentile 19 in. Measured at breast height, as published by each inventory.
Native range
Terrestrial ecoregions where this species is native. Trees in the dataset mostly stand well outside it.
Temperate Broadleaf & Mixed Forests
- Balkan mixed forests
- Baltic mixed forests
- Caucasus mixed forests
- Central European mixed forests
- English Lowlands beech forests
- European Atlantic mixed forests
Other Fagus in the catalogue
6 of the top 2,000 species are in this genus.
