Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.

The American Beech is one of the most familiar trees of the eastern deciduous forest. It has an extensive native range covering virtually the entire eastern third of the United States and southern fringes of the adjacent Canadian provinces. It is relatively common at low elevations throughout this vast range and sometimes forms pure stands – uniquely for a beech species it can sucker, creating dense clonal thickets – or else associates with species such as Acer saccharum, Betula alleghaniensis, Tilia americana and Pinus strobus (Elias 1980).

Sternberg suggests that American Beech is sensitive, and that even within its native range it can be difficult to cultivate if its exacting requirements cannot be met. He and others recommend that when possible natural seedlings should be left in-situ, or else ‘planted in mesic sites where it can be left alone’ (Sternberg 2004). In his inventory of trees growing in the Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa, Buckley (1980) says of the American Beech ‘if properly pruned when young it should form a more beautiful tree than most others’ and Sternberg (2004) goes on to say that material sourced from northernmost provenances ought to be hardy to USDA zone 3. Its autumn colour is paler than that of F. sylvatica, being more straw-coloured, and the marcescent leaves on young specimens and lower branches can give the eastern woods a pallid glow in late autumn into winter.

Various works (for example Bean 1981; Hillier & Coombes 2002) attest that American Beech was introduced to Britain in 1766, but the details appear to be lost to the mists of time. Elwes & Henry (1906) give no details of the introduction, and other than citing the year 1766 nor does Bean, although he goes on to say that ‘American Beech, like so many other trees of its region, has never been much of a success in Britain and the only example recorded is a rather shrubby tree at Eastnor Castle’ (Bean 1981a).

The tree at Eastnor has grown, albeit a little, from 10.6 m as recorded by Bean, to 14 m × 0.66 m dbh when last measured in 2009. A second tree there is 13 m × 0.71 m dbh and these days The Tree Register lists several other notable examples, some have been known for some time such as individuals at Kew (14 m in 2010), Wakehurst (13 m in 2010) and Durham University Botanic Garden (10 m in 2004) while others, including some of of considerable size, suggest that material has been lurking in collections waiting for somebody to recognise it. A tree planted at Bradenham Hall, Norfolk, in 1973 was 19 m × 0.66 m in 2014 – a telling note ‘Genuine?’ appears with the record, betraying perhaps Owen Johnson’s disbelief. If this individual aroused suspicion then we should be doubly suspicious about five trees growing in Avondale Forest Park, County Wicklow, Ireland, which were measured at and above 28 m in 2004. (Tree Register 2019). If these identifications prove genuine they would be quite remarkable in the context of cultivated trees, but it is far more likely that they have been misidentified.

Provenance may be an important factor in the performance of this species in cultivation, especially in the oceanic climate of the United Kingdom and Ireland, but little if any work has been done on this. Unsurprisingly it appears to fare better in the continental climate of mainland Europe. A tree in the Arboretum Poort Bulten, Overijssel, the Netherlands, was 22 m × 1.2 m dbh in 2017. Another in the park at Waux Hall, Hainaut, Belgium, is in excess of 22 m × 1 m dbh, and one at the Villa Pizzi, Lombardy, Italy, was c. 22 m × 1.4 m dbh in 2015. (monumentaltrees.com 2019).

A handful of cultivars have been released in recent years, and it would appear that all of these are currently confined to cultivation in North America.