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Marcescent leaves may be retained indefinitely and do not break off until mechanical forces (wind for instance) cause the dry and brittle petioles to snap. [9] The evolutionary reasons for marcescence are not clear, theories include: protection of leaf buds from winter desiccation, and as a delayed source of nutrients or moisture-conserving ...
They typically measure 5–10 centimetres (2.0–3.9 in) in length. Flowers appear in the spring and are inconspicuous. [4] The beechnuts sit in a thin spiny husk and are less than 5 cm in diameter. [5] The triangular beech nuts are popular in autumn with birds, mice and squirrels. [citation needed] The green leaves become copper-toned in the fall.
The fruit is a triangle-shaped shell containing 2–3 nuts inside, but many of them do not fill in, especially on solitary trees. Beech nuts are sweet and nutritious, [7] can be eaten raw by wildlife and humans, [26] or can be cooked. [27] They can also be roasted and ground into a coffee substitute. [7] The leaves are edible when cooked. [7]
Beech wood tablets were a common writing material in Germanic societies before the development of paper. The Old English bōc [54] has the primary sense of "beech" but also a secondary sense of "book", and it is from bōc that the modern word derives. [55] In modern German, the word for "book" is Buch, with Buche meaning "beech tree".
The tree produces spiky green fruits about the size of a golf ball, which turn brown and drop off the tree over an extended period beginning in fall and continuing over the winter.
The crown is rounded and the bark is smooth and grey. The simple leaves are arranged alternately along the branch. They are broadest towards the base and have 7 to 11 pairs of veins. The nut has a short thick stalk, 15 millimetres (0.6 in) long. There are flattened green whiskers at the base of the husk of the nut. The flowers are wind ...
People often use the simple mnemonic spring forward, fall back to remember to set clocks forward one hour (e.g., from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.) in the spring and backward one hour (e.g., from 2 a.m. to 1 ...
Knocking down acorn to feed pigs. 1300s England. Mast is the fruit of forest trees and shrubs, such as acorns and other nuts. [1] The term derives from the Old English mæst, meaning the nuts of forest trees that have accumulated on the ground, especially those used historically for fattening domestic pigs, and as food resources for wildlife.