Nova Scotia through Quebec and Ontario.
Maine,—abundant; New Hampshire,—throughout the state; common on the Connecticut-Merrimac watershed, enters largely into the composition of the hardwood forests of Coos county; Vermont,—abundant; Massachusetts,—in western sections abundant, common eastward; Rhode Island and Connecticut,—common.
South to Florida; west to Wisconsin, Missouri, and Texas.
Habit.—A tree of great beauty, rising to a height of 50-75 feet, with a diameter at the ground of 1½-4 feet; under favorable conditions attaining much greater dimensions; trunk remarkably smooth, sometimes fluted, in the forests tall and straight, in open situations short and stout; head symmetrical, of various shapes,—rounded, oblong, or even obovate; branches numerous, mostly long and slender, curving slightly upward at their tips, near the point of branching horizontal or slightly drooping, beset with short branchlets which form a flat, dense, and beautiful spray; roots numerous, light brown, long, and running near the surface. Tree easily distinguishable in winter by the dried brownish-white leaves, spear-like buds, and smooth bark.
Bark.—Trunk light blue gray, smooth, unbroken, slightly corrugated in old trees, often beautifully mottled in blotches or bands and invested by lichens; branches gray; branchlets dark brown and smooth; spray shining, reddish-brown; season's shoots a shining olive green, orange-dotted.
Winter Buds and Leaves.—Buds conspicuous, long, very slender, tapering slowly to a sharp point; scales rich brown, lengthening as the bud opens. Leaves set in plane of the spray, simple, alternate, 3-5 inches long, one-half as wide, silky-pubescent with fringed edges when young, nearly smooth when fully grown, green on both sides, turning to rusty yellows and browns in autumn, persistent till mid-winter; outline oval, serrate; apex acuminate; base rounded; veins strong, straight, terminating in the teeth; leafstalk short, hairy at first; stipules slender, silky, soon falling.
Inflorescence.—May. Appearing with the leaves from the season's shoots, sterile flowers from the lower axils, in heads suspended at the end of silky threads 1-2 inches long; calyx campanulate, pubescent, yellowish-green, mostly 6-lobed; petals none; stamens 6-16; anthers exserted; ovary wanting or abortive: fertile flowers from the upper axils, usually single or in pairs, at the end of a short peduncle; involucre 4-lobed, fringed with prickly scales; calyx with six awl-shaped lobes; ovary 3-celled; styles 3.
Fruit.—A prickly bur, thick, 4-valved, splitting nearly to the base when ripe: nut sharply triangular, sweet, edible.
Horticultural Value.—Hardy throughout New England; grows well in any good soil, but prefers deep, rich, well-drained loam; usually obtainable in nurseries; when frequently transplanted, safely moved. Its clean trunk and limbs, deep shade, and freedom from insect pests make it one of the most attractive of our large trees for use, summer or winter, in landscape gardening; few plants, however, will grow beneath it; the bark is easily disfigured; it has a bad habit of throwing out suckers and is liable to be killed by any injury to the roots. Propagated from the seed. The purple beech, weeping beech, and fern-leaf beech are well-known horticultural forms.