It was discovered in 1864 in the forests of Dawyck, Scotland, and introduced to the market by the HESSE nursery in 1913.
Form:
A large deciduous tree with a columnar crown, the main trunk branches into several trunks that grow close to each other to the very top, the lateral branches are slightly wavy, vertical.
Size:
Height 15-20 m and only 3 m in width, one of the trees found in nature was 25 m high. Annual growth in height 40 cm, in width 5 cm.
Leaves:
Arranged alternately, broadly elliptical or oval, 5-10 cm long, with 5-9 pairs of veins, edges slightly double, at first the leaves are pubescent, later dark green on top, shiny and smooth, on the underside pubescent on the veins, autumn color is yellow or red-brown.
Flowering:
The plant is monoecious, male flowers are collected in numerous spherical inflorescences on long petioles, female flowers are collected by 2, appear in May, the first flowering occurs after 15-20 years.
Fruits:
Always 2 one-seeded beech nuts in one bristly capsule, located vertically or horizontally, in large quantities are slightly toxic due to the oxalic acid they contain.
Roots:
A typical taproot system, characterized by strong, widely spreading and strongly intertwined lateral roots that intensively braid the upper soil layers, old trees have many root suckers. The depth of the roots is about 1-1.4 m, on compacted soils or with stagnant water the depth is only 0.3 m, on light sandy soils the width of the root system is sometimes twice as wide as the diameter of the crown. The roots do not tolerate soil compaction, filling and removal of soil, strong changes in water levels, flooding.
Light:
Shade-tolerant.
Soil:
Undemanding, prefers fresh or moist fertile clay soils with a certain lime content. Beeches grow well on slightly acidic, nutrient-poor soils.
Features:
It has a high ability to tolerate shade (beeches develop well in 1/60 of the illumination in an open place). Sensitive to late frosts, heat, air and soil pollution. Suffers from stagnant water and prolonged drought.
