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'''Beech''' (''Fagus'') is a [[genus]] of [[deciduous]] [[tree]]s in the family [[Fagaceae]], native to temperate [[Eurasia]] and [[North America]]. RecentThere classifications recognize 10 toare 13 accepted species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The subgenus ''Engleriana'' subgenus is found only in East Asia, distinctive for its low branches, often made up of several major trunks with yellowish bark. The better known ''Fagus'' subgenus beeches are native to Europe and North America. They are high-branching trees with tall, stout trunks and smooth silver-grey bark. The [[Fagus sylvatica|European beech]] (''[[Fagus sylvatica]]'') is the most commonly cultivated species, yielding a utility timber used for furniture construction, flooring and engineering purposes, in plywood, and household items. The timber can be used to build homes. Beechwood makes excellent [[firewood]]. Slats of washed beech wood are spread around the bottom of fermentation tanks for [[Budweiser]] beer. Beech logs are burned to dry the [[malt]] used in some German [[smoked beer]]s. Beech is also used to smoke [[Westphalian ham]], [[andouille]] sausage, and some cheeses.
 
The European species ''Fagus sylvatica'' yields a utility timber used for furniture construction, flooring and engineering purposes, in plywood, and household items. The timber can be used to build homes.
 
Beechwood makes excellent [[firewood]]. Slats of washed beech wood are spread around the bottom of fermentation tanks for [[Budweiser]] beer. Beech logs are burned to dry the [[malt]] used in some German [[smoked beer]]s. Beech is also used to smoke [[Westphalian ham]], [[andouille]] sausage, and some cheeses.
 
== Description ==
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Beeches are [[monoecious]], bearing both male and female flowers on the same plant. The small flowers are unisexual, the female flowers borne in pairs, the male flowers wind-pollinating [[catkin]]s. They are produced in spring shortly after the new leaves appear. The fruit of the beech tree, known as beechnuts or mast, is found in small [[bur]]rs that drop from the tree in autumn. They are small, roughly triangular, and edible, with a bitter, astringent, or mild and nut-like taste.
 
The European beech (''Fagus sylvatica'') is the most commonly cultivated, although few important differences are seen between species aside from detail elements such as [[leaf]] shape. The leaves of beech trees are entire or sparsely toothed, from {{convert|5|–|15|cm|in|0|abbr=off}} long and {{convert|4|–|10|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} broad. Beeches are [[monoecious]], bearing both male and female flowers on the same plant. The small flowers are unisexual, the female flowers borne in pairs, the male flowers wind-pollinating [[catkin]]s. They are produced in spring shortly after the new leaves appear.
 
The bark is smooth and light gray. The fruit is a small, sharply three-angled [[nut (fruit)|nut]] {{convert|10|–|15|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} long, borne singly or in pairs in soft-spined husks {{convert|1.5|–|2.5|cm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} long, known as cupules. The husk can have a variety of spine- to scale-like appendages, the character of which is, in addition to leaf shape, one of the primary ways beeches are differentiated.<ref name="Shen, Chung-Fu 1992" /> The nuts have a bitter taste (though not nearly as bitter as [[acorn]]s) and a high [[tannin]] content; these are called beechnuts<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Lyle |first=Katie Letcher |title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: How to Find, Identify, and Cook Them |publisher=[[FalconGuides]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-59921-887-8 |edition=2nd |location=Guilford, CN |pages=138 |oclc=560560606 |orig-year=2004}}</ref> or beech mast.
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[[Beech leaf disease]] is a disease that affects American beeches spread by the newly discovered nematode, ''[[Litylenchus crenatae mccannii]]''. This disease was first discovered in Lake County, Ohio, in 2012 and has now spread to over 41 counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, Canada.<ref>{{cite news |last=Crowley |first=Brendan |date=2020-09-28 |title=Deadly 'Beech Leaf Disease' Identified Across Connecticut and Rhode Island |work=The Connecticut Examiner |url=https://ctexaminer.com/2020/09/28/deadly-beech-leaf-disease-identified-across-connecticut-and-rhode-island/ |access-date=2020-11-15}}</ref>
As of 2024, the disease has become widespread in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and in portions of coastal New Hampshire and coastal and central Maine.<ref>University of New Hampshire</ref>
 
== Cultivation ==
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