Creature Feature: American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) By Emma
Dean, CG Science Editor Though once believed to have a range
that covered what would be the continental United States until
the glacial period, American beech currently maintains a
slightly lesser native geographic habitat, which is still quite
impressive. American beech covers the eastern U.S. and Canada
from Florida to Quebec, as well as Utah. Indigenous to North
America, European colonists recognized the tree as a relative of
the European beech and gathered the beechnuts to extract the oil
which is similar to olive oil. The beechnuts, which persist
through winter, can become somewhat of a litter problem, but not
the leaf litter due to the fact that after turning a lovely
bronze color, the leaves stay on the tree throughout winter. As
autumn ends and winter begins, the leaves become less bronze and
resemble thin, curled parchment paper. Due to a shallow root
system, grass does not sprout beneath the tree. This is not
entirely noticeable because th