Botanical name: Beech (Fagus sylvatica) or European beech, genus Beech, family Beech.
Homeland of beech: North hemisphere.
Lighting: photophilous.
The soil: sod-podzolic, podzolic, acidic, calcareous.
Watering: abundant.
Maximum tree height: 50 m.
Average duration tree life: up to 500 years.
Landing: seeds.
Description of the beech tree and its photo
A large deciduous spreading tree with light gray bark. Reaches up to 50 m in height.
The trunk is columnar, 1.5 m in diameter. Centuries-old trees have a trunk diameter of about 3 m. The crown is ovoid or broadly cylindrical, raised high above the ground.
The branches are thin and spread out. Maximum area crown is 315 sq. m. Beech begins to bear fruit at the age of 20-40, in plantations from 60-80 years. Gives growth for about 350 years. IN good conditions lives up to 500 years, sometimes longer. Young shoots are light brown, with whitish lentils. The bark on young beech trees is gray-brown, on adults it is gray, smooth and thin, which is distinctive feature tree throughout its life.
The root system is powerful and shallow. There is no clearly defined tap root. The roots of neighboring trees in a forest often intertwine or grow together. In older individuals they grow greatly, which is why they are called “root claws”. The shoots are renewed from the stump at the age of 30-60 years.
The buds are long-pointed, 1.5 - 3 cm in length. The scales are red-brown or light brown, sharp, numerous, pubescent at the apex.
Beech leaves are arranged alternately, in two rows, and the petioles are pubescent. The shape of the leaves is elliptical, broadly pointed, 4-10 cm long, 2.5-7 cm wide. The leaves are light green in color, turning yellow in the fall and later brown.
Flowers are dioecious. They bloom when the leaves bloom.
The fruit is a triangular nut with sharp ribs, 1-1.6 cm long, with a thin, brown, shiny shell. Each nut contains 1-2 seeds. Ripens in August-September. They fall off from October to November. The usual yield of a beech tree is up to 8 kg of nuts per tree. Abundant yields are repeated after 10-12 years. Beech fruits are considered valuable food raw materials. They are collected when they are fully ripe. The nut kernel contains fatty oils, nitrogenous substances, vitamin tocopherol, organic acids, starch, sugar, fiber, guaiacol, and cresols.
Beech tree: beneficial properties
Beech has been known since ancient times for its unique properties. The fruits, leaves and bark of the tree are of great value.
Its nuts taste qualities They are not inferior to cedar trees, serve as food for forest animals and birds, and are a healthy delicacy for humans. People eat processed, roasted fruits because they contain large amounts of potent substance fagin, harmful to human health. IN fresh they cannot be used. Beech nut oil is not inferior in value and properties to olive and almond oil. It has a light yellow tint and is used in confectionery, canning, bakery production, as well as in medicine, perfumery and various technical industries. The cakes are rich in protein and serve as feed for farm animals. Beech leaves contain vitamin K and tannins. For many years they have been used in folk medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.
Hard and dense beech wood is easy to sand and process. High-quality veneer is made from it. In terms of its properties, beech wood is superior to oak wood, therefore it is a fairly popular raw material, having strength, durability and aesthetics. appearance. It dries quite quickly, leaving almost no cracks. A dry board lends itself well to processing, after which it acquires a perfectly smooth surface. Used for external and interior decoration premises, making musical instruments, plywood, parquet, stairs and much more. In the forest chemical industry, the wood of this tree is used to produce methyl alcohol, acetone and furfural, which are included in medicines. Xelite, a sugar substitute, tar and creosote, used in construction and medicine, are also obtained from it.
Where does the beech tree grow?
Forest beech, a photo of which can be seen on this page, grows in Europe, in Russia, Western Ukraine, Belarus. The tree is unpretentious, grows on any soil, prefers loamy substrates. Warm and moisture-loving, freezes slightly in harsh conditions.
Pests and diseases of beech
Beech tree unfavorable conditions susceptible to fungal diseases. Greatest danger represents white marble rot, trunk cancer, seedling rot, white peripheral rot of roots. There are leaf-eating, leaf-mining, skeletonizing, fruit-damaging pests that spoil seedlings and young growths of plants. The main pests are insects, pine beetles and mushrooms, as well as birds and mammals that consume beech bark and leaves.
Use of beech wood
Beech wood is an excellent material for making furniture; it is used in construction, carriage building and mechanical engineering. From forest beech Tar is obtained by distillation. Firewood from it is intended for heating the fireplace. Beech ash is used in glass production. Potash and lye are obtained from it, which are necessary in the household for washing and cleaning. Beech wood, along with birch wood, is considered the most accessible raw material for paper production. In some countries, beech chips are needed for smoking sausages. In cosmetology, beech bud extract is used, which is part of anti-aging skin care products. Beech tar has found its use in folk medicine to treat skin diseases and rheumatism. Some medicines contain cresol, extracted from the nuts of this plant.
Thanks to the beautiful shape and color of beech wood, it is also used to create large compositions in gardens, alleys and recreation parks. The spreading crown of densely planted trees creates shade in which you can relax on a hot summer day. Beech lends itself well to pruning and is therefore used to create hedges. In a group planting it is combined with birch,
Any living organism has its own energy and the ability to influence another living organism nearby. The connection between man and tree is one of the strongest. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors, who had to survive in symbiosis with nature itself, were firmly convinced of the power of green giants. Trees were considered sacred, they were worshiped, they were asked for help.
Just like people, tree species differ in character and properties. Some fill with strength, others protect, others calm. In order to correctly or talisman, you should know which type of wood will help solve your problems better and faster than others.
In this article we will tell you about the wonderful abilities of such a breed as beech. It is believed that what older tree, the stronger its energy and impact on humans. Beech trees are long-lived, some exceed 400 years. For such long life The beech tree is recognized as a symbol of ancient knowledge passed down from generation to generation.
Beech tree - its magical properties
Having with you a piece of jewelry, or simply any product made from this wood, you will soon feel its properties in magic, which have an impact in such areas as:
- Obtaining and accumulating knowledge. For centuries, this tree has absorbed the wisdom and ritual spells of its ancestors. It will help you systematize your existing knowledge and set you up to acquire new ones, acting as a kind of guide from the past to the future;
- Expanding your horizons. Beech will awaken your natural curiosity and desire for new discoveries. To satisfy your curiosity, you will expand your circle of acquaintances and make interesting connections;
- Loyalty to others. The energy of beech wood has a beneficial effect on emotionality, muting negative reactions such as anger, rage, resentment, and irritation. Beech will help you become more tolerant of the people around you;
- The ability to concentrate on the main thing. Many of us have been in a situation where there are a lot of different things to do and our heads are spinning - where to start, what is more important, what can wait. The beech also copes with this task - it will relieve nervous tension, calm the mind, and you will be able to properly distribute time, highlighting priority matters that no longer require delay;
- Ability to achieve goals. The beech tree is a symbol of honor and victory. It will tirelessly promote your progress towards your goal. Feeling such powerful support, victory will definitely be yours.
Beech and its healing energy
In addition to esoteric abilities, this wood has beneficial physical effects on the body:
- Beech fiber is a powerful antiseptic and helps with various types skin diseases, including promoting rapid regeneration of damaged tissues and cleansing purulent wounds;
- Puts things in order respiratory system, facilitates processes in patients with bronchial asthma;
- Improves the functioning of the heart muscle, helps with arrhythmia, reduces dizziness with vegetative-vascular dystonia;
- Calms and normalizes nervous system, increases the body's resistance to stress.
Beech is a tree that will get rid of chaos and everything unnecessary; it will bring balance and stability to your life.
The beech tree requires a significant amount of space so that viewers can feel its power and beauty. Beech is valued not only for its expressive habit, but also for the elegant color of its foliage: in variegated forms it is purple and does not fall off most winter.
- Height: from 6 to 40 m
- Width: from 6 to 20 m
- Classification by foliage type: deciduous tree
- Frost resistance: quite thermophilic, tolerates short drops in temperature down to -20 ° C
- Soil: Regular garden soil, moist, preferably loamy. Does not tolerate salinity
- Cultivation method: to create powerful groups and arrays, in solitary plantings in open areas. Forms beautiful clipped hedges and walls
- Pruning period: autumn
Landing
Prepare a planting hole in advance (1 x 1 m). The optimal soil for planting is peat compost, turf soil, peat and sand, ratio 2:2:1:1. When planting, 100 g of phosphorus and 50 g of potassium are added to the hole. A drainage system is required. Loosen the soil at the bottom, install the support, slightly shifting it relative to the center of the planting hole, then place the seedling strictly in the center. Secure the seedling to the support.
Trimming
Formative pruning
Make sure that the tree trunk always remains level - for this it must be constantly tied to a vertical support, the fastening must be adjusted. Remove any shoots that may compete with the main trunk.
Remove or cut lateral branches directed horizontally from the trunk to two-thirds of their length.
Sanitary pruning
When the crown is formed, all that remains is to regularly remove all dead and dried branches, as well as shoots that begin to grow in an undesirable direction. Do not forget to treat large cuts with garden varnish to avoid fungal infection.
Reproduction
Propagation by seeds
Seeds require stratification - keep the seeds in a vegetable drawer in the refrigerator before planting. Sow in a mini-greenhouse in February, keep the pots with seeds at a temperature of at least 15 °C.
Propagation by cuttings
Budding using the “under the bark” technique is carried out in the spring, using a shoot grown from a seed. You can graft “into the cleft.”
Care and agricultural technology
Beech tolerates drought extremely poorly - provide the seedling with plenty of water, especially in the first years after transplantation. Slow tree growth can be accelerated if you regularly add complex fertilizer for decorative deciduous trees and shrubs to the soil. Beech often suffers from fungal diseases - do not forget to treat trees with fungicides and insecticides annually for preventive purposes.
Description
Tree height is up to 30 m, trunk diameter is up to 2 m.
The trunk is smooth, covered with a thin layer of gray bark.
The leaves are deciduous, simple, entire or with sparse serrations, oval or oval-oblong, 5-15 cm long and 4-10 cm wide.
In beech, which has a dense crown of entire leaves, the upper branches shade the lower ones so much that the latter, not having the light necessary for photosynthesis, gradually die and fall off.
As a result, the beech tree in the forest is devoid of branches almost to the very top, and its crown is supported, as it were, by bare pillars. This property is characteristic of all species of the Beech genus, as well as of many other trees growing in close formation.
The buds are elongated (often more than 2.5 cm), scaly, and appear in winter.
Flowering in spring, simultaneously with the unfolding of leaves. The flowers are unisexual, collected in catkins, and pollinated by the wind.
In solitary trees, fruiting occurs after 20-40 years, and in groups after 60 years and later.
The fruits are acorn-shaped, triangular, 10-15 mm long, with a woody shell, collected in pairs or four pieces in a 4-lobed shell called a plus.
The fruits are sometimes called "beechnuts" - they are edible, although they contain large amounts of bitter-tasting tannin and may contain the poisonous alkaloid fagin, which decomposes when roasted.
Beeches grow slowly, but live up to 400 years or more.
Shade-tolerant, heat-loving, grows best in loamy soil.
Beech trees usually reproduce by seeds, although the plant is shallow and branched. root system sometimes it produces lateral shoots from which a young tree can grow.
Spreading
Distributed in temperate zone Europe, Asia and North America. These are one of the most common trees in Europe. In the mountains they grow at altitudes of up to 2300 m above sea level. Often dominate in deciduous and mixed forests.
The most widespread are Beech in Eurasia and large-leaved beech in North America. Engler's beech grows wild in China, its height reaches 20 m, and the trunk is divided into several branches forming a wide oval crown.
Similar trunk shape in two endemics Japanese islands: Japanese blue and jagged (height up to 30 m) beeches. Mexican beech, as you might guess from the name, comes from Mexico - a tall (up to 40 m) tree with wedge-shaped leaves, used in wood processing.
Some types Southern Hemisphere, previously classified as beeches, are now separated into separate families of Nothophagaceae and the genus Nothofagus. These plants are native to Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, New Caledonia and South America.
In the territory Russian Federation, in addition to forest, also grows Eastern beech- his natural habitat located in the Caucasus and Crimea.
Paleobotanical information
At the beginning of the Tertiary period, forests with beech, making up the so-called Turgai flora, were distributed from the Urals and the Aral Sea (even Bashkiria) to Sakhalin and Kamchatka. They covered most of Canada, Alaska and southern part Greenland.
The Turgai flora replaced the large-leaved flora of the Early Paleogene due to cooling, as it was more adapted to existence in conditions of a moderately warm, humid climate.
At the end of the Oligocene and Miocene, the Turgai flora in Eurasia spread to the south and southwest, gradually displacing the subtropical flora. In the Oligocene, the Turgai flora completely conquered the high latitudes, where then, due to further cooling, it was quickly replaced by a more temperate flora.
It has disappeared from most of the Boreal region, replaced by a flora consisting of conifers and small-leaved trees tree species and various herbaceous plants, forming the basis of modern vegetation of the Euro-Siberian and Atlantic-North American regions.
The Turgai flora survived until the end of the Neogene in the south of Central and of Eastern Europe, in the northeast of China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan and the Appalachians.
In the Eopleistocene, during the climatic optimum phase, forests dominated by pine were common in the basins of the middle Volga and lower Kama, which included many hardwoods, including beech.
Beech is present in Eopleistocene deposits in the territories of the Northern Caspian region, the Northern Black Sea region and the Lower Don, Bashkiria and the Middle Volga region, the middle Dnieper basin, and the upper Neman basin.
Beech was part of the Pliocene flora in Florida and southern Alabama. Since it was not found in earlier deposits, it can be assumed that it migrated here from more northern regions America due to cold weather.
In Scotland and Ireland, the Turgai flora has existed since the Eocene. The Turgai flora was transformed through evolution into the modern flora deciduous forests Northern Hemisphere.
Fossil evidence shows a very wide and uniform distribution of beech in the Northern Hemisphere during the Miocene. According to other data, the presence of beech in Europe was established to be no younger than the Middle Pliocene.
IN glacial period beech, along with other heat-loving plants, retreated to the south and was preserved only in a few refugia. During interglacial periods, when warming occurred, beech came out of its refugia and occupied nearby territories.
During the warmest interglacial periods broadleaf forests with the participation of beech, they occupied almost the entire Central Europe.
Paleobotanical finds also indicate the presence of beech in the middle part European Russia during the Mindel-Ris interglacial era, the climate in which was warmer and wetter than today.
Paleobotanical evidence suggests a North Pacific origin for beech species.
Most of them remained in East Asia and only large-leaved beech, native to North America, and European beech fall out of the Eurasian range.
Eastern beech, having more early origins Compared to European beech - the Tertiary period, preserved in the near-Black Sea refugium.
Crimean beech, which serves as a connecting link between these two species, is common in places where eastern and European beech meet.
Application and Use
Some beech species (especially cultivated forest beech varieties) have wide application as green spaces. When constructing artificial landscapes, both single plantings and large tracts in parks and forest parks are used.
Due to their dense foliage and resistance to molding, beech trees are often used to build hedges.
Beech forests - buchins - have important resort and aesthetic significance. There are many sanatoriums, holiday homes, and children's camps located in them. Their role is extremely important in maintaining clean air and water sources, and in protecting soils from erosion.
Beech forests help convert surface water flow into subsurface water, ensure uniform flow of precipitation into rivers, and protect natural and artificial reservoirs from silting.
Observations have shown that under the beech forest canopy, even on steep slopes, surface runoff, and therefore soil erosion, is small. Through their roots, plants release various organic and inorganic substances into the soil, which help increase its fertility.
Wood
Beech wood is often used to make various products: musical instruments, in particular guitars, plywood, parquet, wooden containers, weaving shuttles, gun stocks, measuring instruments, etc.
Steam-treated beech bends easily. This feature allows the use of beech wood in the furniture industry in the manufacture of Viennese chairs and rounded parts.
Beech chips are used to brew Budweiser beer.
Beech wood is white with a yellowish-red tint (over time it becomes pinkish-brown), dense, heavy, resistant to moisture (but very deformed when humidity changes), and polishes well and easily.
It does not last long outdoors and is therefore only used indoors.
It is obtained from beech wood acetic acid, tar, creosote oils, methyl alcohol.
Nutritional and feed value
High-quality edible oil of light yellow color is obtained from the nuts, not much inferior to Provençal oil. It is used in food and confectionery industry. Technical oil is obtained by another processing method.
The remaining mass after pressing is used to make a coffee surrogate, and when boiled, it is used as feed for farm animals. Willingly eat beech nuts forest creatures: wild boars, roe deer, squirrels, etc.
Nuts are very nutritious: they contain up to 50 percent oil, and in addition, proteins, sugars, malic and citric acid, vitamin E.
Residents of those places where many beech trees grow make flour from peeled and always roasted nuts. By adding a small amount of wheat flour to it, excellent pancakes, pancakes, and crumbly cookies are baked.
In some places (in the Caucasus, in the Carpathians), beech flour is used for baking ordinary bread. This addition significantly improves its taste.
In addition, roasted beech seeds are used as a folk delicacy in the Caucasus - just like sunflower seeds in Russia.
Interesting Facts
The word beech became part of the toponym Bukovina and Buchenwald
In disputes about the location of the ancestral home of the Slavs, the beech argument was put forward, according to which the word beech was borrowed by the Slavs from German language(the modern German name for beech is Buche), which means that the ancestral home of the Slavs lay in the forest zone outside the beech area, that is, east of the Kaliningrad-Odessa line.
However, the ranges of certain plants and animals may change over time, so this argument, as well as the conclusions that flow from it, are not necessarily true or accurate.
Since at the time of the separation of the Slavs into a separate ethnic group, the beech range could have been limited to some more western or more southern “line”, the modern border of its range is not necessarily decisive in the search for the ancestral home of the Slavs.
Classification
According to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew website, the genus contains 11 species:
Fagus chienii W.C.Cheng
Fagus crenata Blume - Serrated beech
Fagus engleriana Seemen - Engler's Beech
Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. - Large-leaved beech
Fagus hayatae Palib. - Taiwanese beech
Fagus japonica Maxim. - Japanese beech
Fagus longipetiolata Seemen - Long-petiolate beech, or South Chinese beech
Fagus lucida Rehder & E.H.Wilson - Shining beech
Fagus orientalis Lipsky - Eastern beech, or Caucasian beech
Fagus sylvatica L. typus - European beech or European beech
Fagus ×taurica Popl. - Crimean beech, a hybrid of forest beech (Fagus sylvatica) and eastern beech (Fagus orientalis).
I consider it necessary to plant beech trees of several types in the eco-park - everything will depend on the possibility of purchasing seedlings and their price. Monitoring prices for Beech seedlings has discouraged me from buying them.
I think the most suitable for the eco-park is European / European beech (Fagus sylvatica)
Grows wildly in Western Europe, Western Ukraine and Belarus, where it forms pure and mixed forests.
A tall tree up to 30 m tall, with a slender trunk and a powerful ovoid crown. The bark of young branches is reddish-brown, the trunks are light gray and smooth.
The leaves are large, up to 10 cm long, elliptical, slightly wavy along the edge, shiny, leathery, dark green in summer and very impressively colored in autumn, from yellow to copper tones. Men's and female flowers located on the shoots separately.
The fruit is a triangular nut up to 1.5 cm long, covered with a plus, covered with awl-shaped outgrowths. It grows slowly, is very shade-tolerant, thermophilic (especially decorative forms), demanding of air humidity, does not tolerate drought, and develops well on calcareous soils. Lives up to 500 years, but old trees are usually diseased.
Propagated by seeds, layering, summer cuttings.
One of the most valuable breeds for green building. It is used to create powerful groups and arrays in parks and forest parks, in single plantings in clearings. Forms beautiful trimmed hedges and walls.
In culture for a very long time. It goes well with white fir, hooked pine, common spruce, yew, hemlock, junipers, birches, plane trees, hornbeam, mountain ash, oaks, hazel, euonymus, rose rugosa, etc.
Beech can grow in both partial shade and sun. Frost resistance is low. In the conditions of the Moscow region it freezes slightly and requires a warm, protected place.
There is an opinion that
In terms of precipitation, the Moscow region is at the limit of Buk's survival rate.
Therefore, it is necessary to plant Beech seeds in places where Beech seedlings are guaranteed not to lack moisture.
Besides,
The high adaptability of Beech is evidenced by the huge total habitat occupied by its varieties.
From all that has been said, we can draw the following conclusion: the absence today beech forests V central Russia- guilt natural history, the species' lack of ability to disperse rapidly (lack of flying seeds), as well as human disinterest or ignorance.
Because climatic restrictions for the growth of Beech in forests near Moscow missing or about to be removed.
Given the high value of beech wood, it makes sense to actively engage in the cultivation of beech. You just need to be patient, because in the first years Beech grows very slowly.
I invite everyone to speak out in
The pure species is known as European or forest beech. European beech is an impressively sized tree that is suitable for growing in large park gardens.
Tall varieties of European beech include varieties such as 'Atropunicea', which has black and red leaves that form a decorative summer canopy. "Cuprea" with beautiful copper leaves and "Laciniata" with strongly dissected pinnate leaves various shapes. Lower-growing varieties of European beech are represented by the following varieties: "Dawyck" with a columnar crown, reaching a height of 20 meters, a variety of pure beech is represented by the variety @Pendula" with an elegant weeping crown. More miniature, reaching a height of 10-15 meters, the black-red variety “Purupurea Pendula” has a mushroom-shaped crown. The variety "Asplenifolia" with fern-like, deeply dissected, dark green leaves reaches no more than 15 meters in height. “Tortuosa” has a particularly picturesque appearance with serpentine, winding branches. The most vibrant purple leaves are found on the 'Riversii' tree.
European beech should be planted in open areas where it can reveal itself in all its glory. The beech lives for a very long time and dictates conditions to later garden settlers. Tall solitaire trees look great on lawns, while maintaining decorative form crowns In small areas you can grow small weeping beeches, which are very picturesque. Beeches can be planted in small groups at the boundaries of plots. Under conditions of mutual shading, the lower branches of the trees will gradually die back, revealing smooth gray trunks. A hedge made of European beech trees provides excellent protection from wind and prying eyes. In addition, it is very interesting to watch how she changes her appearance over time and the changing seasons.
I do not recommend planting any plants under European beech with a heart-shaped root system and numerous superficial roots. In addition, it does not tolerate compaction of the surface layer of soil, so you should not make paths or create resting areas near it. A powerful and majestic single beech looks good on a well-groomed lawn. A single European beech has a spreading, low crown, its branches almost touching the ground. If you have space in the garden, plant it European beech conifers or deciduous trees– they will make a magnificent background. Only a few herbs can grow in the shade of the dense beech canopy. Shade-loving plants, for example, common ivy, cover the soil with a thick carpet, feel good here.
Before planting, remove the seedling from the container and place it in a bucket of water. We dig a hole twice the size of the seedling's earthen ball. Loosen the soil at the bottom of the hole. Remove the seedling from the bucket, shake off excess soil and untangle any matted roots. We place the tree in the hole at the same depth as it grew in the container. Mix the excavated soil with compost. Fill the hole with enriched soil. Add a little beech leaf humus. We compact the surface tightly. We form a circle around the trunk. Water the seedling well. Apply a thin layer of mulch. The thin bark of young trees can be damaged by the sun. The trunk can be protected from burns by wrapping it in jute.
in autumn favorable time for landing. Fallen beech leaves decompose very slowly and should not be disposed of large quantities put into compost. They can be used as mulch. Spring is a favorable time for planting. Some trees have a beautiful natural crown and do not need pruning. In summer, we water young trees abundantly during the June and July drought. We mulch the tree trunk circles. Twice - at the end of June and at the end of August - trim the shape of the hedges.
Thanks to its beautiful foliage and decorative bark, the beech tree is beautiful at any time of the year, creating a dense canopy of leaves. To summarize, we can say that European beech has bright autumn leaf color, is an unpretentious tree, and also has decorative bark and edible nuts. The planting site should be sunny or partial shade, but the soil should be permeable and fertile. When composing compositions, we maintain a distance between seedlings of 5-20 meters, and remember that beech reaches 10-30 meters in height.
From point of view magical properties The beech tree was not noticed, but you can recharge your energy from it; the beech tree has the properties of trust and serenity. Beech has the ability to repel enemies, and the antiseptic properties of creosote - resin. If we want to become as strong as the beech tree, we need to get in touch with the source inner strength capable of solving any problems and radiating calm and confidence, but more on that in another section. Good luck to you.
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