Plant · P-555

European Beech

Fagus sylvatica

European Beech is the beech behind classic European hedging and woodland, and its nuts are a noticeably better food than the American beech's. It flushes new leaves twice a year, but they toughen fast, so only about three weeks of growth after each flush is tender enough for a raw salad. Cut hard and late in summer, its hedges hold their dead leaves through winter, giving one of the few deciduous screens that stays solid year round. Unlike hazel or willow, it cannot be coppiced for fuel - cutting it back produces little or no regrowth, so its wood comes from felling and thinning instead.