The genus Fagus is exclusive to the northern hemisphere. F. sylvatica L. is a typically European species. Its range stretches from northern Spain to Poland and Ukraine.
To the north it reaches as far as southern England and the coasts of Norway, while to the south the beech gets as far as eastern Sicily.
In Italy the beech is the most representative species of the montane belt.
Centuries-old beeches can be admired, for example, in the Prato Agabito picnic area near Campo Felice.
Fact sheet
- Range and distribution
- The genus Fagus is exclusive to the northern hemisphere. F. sylvatica L. is a typically European species. Its range stretches from northern Spain to Poland and Ukraine. To the north it reaches as far as southern England and the coasts of Norway, while to the south the beech gets as far as eastern Sicily. To the south-east its presence fades out in Greece, giving way to F. moesiaca and F. orientalis. In Italy the beech is perhaps the most representative species of the montane belt. Indeed beech woods cover 1,035,103 ha (INFC – National Inventory of Forests and Forest Carbon Sinks – 2007).
- Ecology
- The beech needs environmental conditions without extremes and a typically oceanic climate. It therefore needs winters that are cold but not too cold, a rainy, misty spring without frosts, a long growing season and soil with excellent characteristics. As long as oceanic conditions are guaranteed, in altitudinal terms the beech extends from the limit of the Norway spruce down to that of the holm oak. The upper limit of the beech in the Alps is 1300 – 1500 m a.s.l., while in the Apennines it reaches the tree line (1600-1800 m a.s.l. – 2300 on Etna), where it stops because of physiological aridity and the wind. The lower limit is set by aridity and by the lack of enough cold for physiological rest. The beech grows in sites with mean annual temperatures between 6 and 12 °C. It can withstand extreme low temperatures, but suffers damage from them because of its thin bark, which is easily subject to frost cracks. Late frosts kill the shoots, and the plant reacts by waking the dormant buds. This leads to the development of an incomplete crown, not hardened enough to withstand the winter. The limitations of the beech are linked to rainfall, which should be over 1500 mm. Since the root system is shallow and concentrated near the root collar, the beech cannot look for water deep down: it only explores the soil shaded by its crown and uses the water that runs down the trunk. The beech likes aerated soils without hydromorphic horizons. Its nutrient needs are well met by its own litter, which breaks down faster than that of conifers. It is a shade-tolerant species in its young phase, although the seedlings put up with cover for less long than those of silver fir. The adult stand manages to cover the ground very densely, and the only tree species able to bear it are yew (Taxus baccata) and holly (Ilex aquifolium). Generally the beech forms pure stands, in whose undergrowth no other plants grow. The presence of other species is possible only through accidental and particular events. Regeneration happens when gaps open up in the canopy, in which the seedlings develop en masse.
- Habit
Depending on the site, the tree can take the form of a first-magnitude tree (up to 40m), with a spreading, massive and monumental crown, or, where environmental conditions become harder, it is found as a twisted shrub.
- Leaves
The leaves are alternate, ovate or obovate in shape, up to 10 cm long and 6 cm wide. The margin is wavy.
The fully developed leaf is smooth and glossy, dark green on the upper side, lighter on the lower one. In autumn the leaves turn yellow before falling.
The buds are characteristic: lanceolate in shape , 1-2 cm long and brown in colour. Shortly before the leaves develop they turn reddish.
- Flowers and fruit
The male flowers, yellow, and the female ones, green, are grouped in clusters and distributed on the same plant.
The fruits are the beechnuts: husks covered in rough bristles, up to 3 cm long, that contain 1-3 achenes. They are edible and rich in oil.
Abundant crops of beechnuts (mast years) come every 3-5 years, depending on the site conditions.
- Bark
Grey and smooth, in younger individuals it shows grey streaks of different size and colour.
- Uses
- Beech wood is smooth, knot-free and fine-grained, and it splits easily. It is used for many household articles, but also for carts, handles, floors, furniture, etc. The oil produced from its achenes is used for feeding livestock and for lighting. It is also used in windbreaks, mixed with conifers, for its dense, compact crown. Beech humus is much sought after by flower growers.
