Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.
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Authority
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
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Family
Fagaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Tree to 30 m, with smooth, gray bark; lvs short-petioled, ovate to oblong-obovate, densely silky when young, later glabrous above, usually remaining silky at least on the midvein beneath; winter-buds elongate, slender, sharp, mostly 1.5–2.5 cm. N.S. to n. Fla., w. to Wis., e. Ill., se. Mo., e. Okla. and e. Tex. Var. grandifolia, red b., northern, occurring on rich upland soils throughout most of our range, usually has sharply serrate lvs, and the prickles of the fr are 4–10 mm, erect to spreading or recurved. Var. caroliniana (Loudon) Fernald & Rehder, white b., more southern, occurring on moist or wet lowland soils especially on and near the coastal plain, n. to Mass., s. O., Ill., and Mo., has usually more markedly acuminate, often merely denticulate lvs, and the prickles of the fr are 1–3(–4) mm, mostly abruptly reflexed from near the base. A third phase, sometimes called gray b., growing at the margins of the spruce-fir forest, s. even to N.C., differs from the other two in that the segments of the cupule do not cover the nutlets at maturity; unlike the others, it tolerates calcareous soil
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Common Names
American beech