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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]
Both bear showy flowers in spring, which are followed by prickly or spiny capsules that split open in fall to release 1 or 2 nuts inside. Unlike actual chestnuts, the nuts of Aesculus species are ...
Copper beech in autumn Shoot with nut cupules. Fagus sylvatica is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to 50 metres (160 feet) tall [4] and 3 m (10 ft) trunk diameter, though more typically 25–35 m (82–115 ft) tall and up to 1.5 m (5 ft) trunk diameter.
Beech is not native to Ireland; however, it was widely planted in the 18th century and can become a problem shading out the native woodland understory. Beech is widely planted for hedging and in deciduous woodlands, and mature, regenerating stands occur throughout mainland Britain at elevations below about 650 m (2,100 ft). [35]
Brittle, shriveled leaves on an ornamental beech at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth are evidence of the disease, which starves the tree by choking off its food supply.
The flowers are small catkins which appear shortly after the leaves in spring. The seeds are small triangular nuts 15–20 mm (0.59–0.79 in) long and 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in) wide at the base; there are two nuts in each cupule, maturing in the autumn 5–6 months after pollination.