American Beech

Description

View of American Beech branch with leaves and trunk in forest.

The genus Fagus is composed of eight species native to Asia, Europe and North America. All species are identical at the cellular level, microscopically. Fagus grandifolia is native to southeast Canada and the eastern half of the United States. The trees reach heights of 120 ft with diameters of over 3 ft. with a bark that is thin, smooth, and gray. Fagus grandifolia has white sapwood and the heartwood is a light reddish brown, darkening through time. Fagus grandifolia works well with most tools under most applications.

It is used for baskets, boxes, brooms and brushes, charcoal, chemical extracts (acetate, methanol, and wood tar-creosote), cooperage, crates, doors, flooring, food containers, furniture, general millwork, handles, lumber, novelties, pallets, paneling, pulpwood, railroad ties, window sashes, trim, turnery, veneer and woodenware (spoons, etc.).

Other Common Names

Other common names include; Beech, Carolina beech, gray beech, red beech, ridge beech, stone beech, white beech, and winter beech.

View of American Beech leaves and cones on small branch.

Tech Sheet

https://research.fs.usda.gov/silvics/american-beech

Characteristics

Characteristics found in the Beech (Fagus sp.)

  • Diffuse Porous
  • Tyloses
  • Simple perforations
  • I/V pits large to linear
  • Wide rays (>15 seriate) & homocellular to heterocellular
  • Crystals in rays and axial parenchyma

Slides (Click on each image to view a larger image)

WOOD SLIDES

Microscope slide of transverse section of Beech wood. Arrows point to Lakewood, growth ring boundary, and earlywood.
Microscope slide of Beech wood. Arrows identify rays and vessels.
Microscope slide of Beech wood at higher magnification. Arriws identify ray vessel pits and vessels.
Microscope slide of Beech wood at higher magnification. Arrows identify vessels, ray vessel pits, and rays.
Slide radio section Beachwood at high magnification. Arrows point to vessels, simple perforations in the vessels, and rays.
Microscope of radio section of Beachwood at high magnification. Arrows point to vessels, upright ray cells, and procumbent ray cells.
Slide of radiation of Beechwood at high magnification. Arrows point to fibers, vessel, scalariform perforations, and axial parenchyma.
Microscope slide of radial section of Beech wood at high magnification. Arrows point to the vessels and ray vessel pits.
Microscope slide of tangential section of Beechwood at high magnification. Arrows point to the wide array type and uniserial rays.
Tangential section of Beachwood. Arrows point to the length of the wide ray type.

CHARCOAL SLIDES

Microscope slide of the radio section of beech charcoal. Arrows point to the rays and vessels.
Microscope slide of tangential section of Beech charcoal. Arrows point to the rays.
Microscope slide of tangential section of beech charcoal at higher magnification. Arrows point to the wide array type.
Microscope slide of transverse section of beech charcoal. Arrows point to the rays and the growth ring boundaries.
Microscope slide of the transverse section of beech charcoal at higher magnification. Arrows point to the rays and the growth ring boundary.
Microscope slide of the transverse section of beech charcoal at higher magnification. Arrows point to the rays and the growth ring boundary.