Beech is a unique plant that has no analogues worldwide. The tree hardly survives in areas where it does not grow in natural conditions. Almost half a century was needed by Russian breeders so that in our country it could grow at least in a collectible form.
Beech wood is highly regarded among other types of materials. In most countries it is imported, and therefore it is quite expensive. And items made from it are rated much higher than similar products from other types of wood.
Spread
Where does oriental beech grow? Under natural conditions, the tree is common in the Caucasus, where it grows at an altitude of a thousand to one and a half thousand meters above sea level. It forms beech or mixed deciduous forests. They occupy about 1 million hectares in the Caucasus, which makes up 25% of the total forest area.
In addition, this variety is widespread in the Crimea - at a level of 700 to 1.5 thousand meters above sea level. It settles in gorges, along river banks, along the northern slopes of mountains, much less often - on the plains.
In the subalpine zone, beech is presented in the form of multi-stemmed low-growing trees, often with bent or lodged trunks at the base. This is an extremely heat-loving breed, which is very demanding on air humidity and soil fertility.
Description of oriental beech
Today we will talk about a tree growing in Russia and the Caucasus. This powerful plant is oriental beech. The height of an adult tree reaches from 30 to 50 meters and up to two meters in the diameter of the trunk. The tree has a powerful dense wide cylindrical or ovoid crown.
The bark is thin and smooth. Young shoots are poorly pubescent. The peculiarity of this tree is a smooth ash-gray trunk, oval-shaped leaves, slightly pointed at the ends with a perfectly even edge. Petiole leaves, alternate. The upper part of the plate is bare, shiny. Petioles are pubescent, no more than 2 cm long. Oriental beech leaf length can vary from 7 to 20 cm. Stipules have a reddish tint. They fall off early.
Flowers
Small, rather inconspicuous flowers are collected in complex inflorescences. Usually flowers are unisexual, much less bisexual, having a simple perianth. Stamen flowers gather in multi-flowered inflorescences, which are attached to long peduncles growing from the axils of the leaves.
Broad-bellied perianth, consisting of 5-6 elliptic leaflets soldered below. Flowering of oriental beech begins in April, almost at the same time as the appearance of leaves.
Fruit
The main value of this species of beech is its fruits, which ripen in the second half of September or early October. The fruits of oriental beech are trihedral, smooth, pointed-ribbed, single-seeded brown nuts. Their length does not exceed 2.2 cm, weight about 0.2 g. Nuts have a thin woody pericarp. From one adult tree, up to 90 thousand fruits are harvested.
The fruit-nut looks like a large buckwheat grain. Two or three of these nuts are collected and covered with a woody strong shell-plush, form shaggy small balls. Needle-shaped processes cover their surface. In fact, they are soft and not at all prickly. The croup is opened when the fruits ripen, in 4 lobes. Productivity alternates in the lower parts of the mountains after three to four years, and in the highlands after 9 years. Harvested nuts range from 20-1000 kg per hectare.
The wood is painted white with a light yellow tint. Overgrowth trees often have a false core of red-brown color. On all sections, tree rings are clearly visible.
Decorative properties
Oriental beech - ornamental trees and shrubs (at a young age), widely used to create green walls and hedges. Look great in combination with many coniferous and deciduous crops. Beech is used for both single and group plantings. Often these plants adorn city parks, territories of hospitals and sanatoriums, rest homes and children's camps. The plant is decorative throughout the year, but beech is especially beautiful in autumn, when the foliage acquires a bright golden-orange color.
Interesting fact
A hectare of beech forest per day emits from 3.5 to 5 thousand tons of water vapor into the atmosphere. This explains the fog and cloudiness rising above the forest. Since the demand for hardwood in water is much greater than for resinous, they increase air humidity. Thus, they regulate the climate. Mass deforestation of deciduous forests entails long-term climate change, usually negative.
Chemical Features
Oriental beech kernels contain:
- up to 48% of proteins;
- starch and sugar (3 - 5%);
- tocopherol;
- organic acids and fatty oil (50 - 57%);
- tannins;
- nitrogenous substances (up to 30%);
- citric and malic acid.
In addition, they include the poisonous alkaloid phagin, which decomposes when toasting nuts. As a result, they become harmless to humans. About 5% of creosote contains tar from beech wood. This substance is a mixture of different phenols. The cortex contains vanilloside and citric acid. The wood contains cyclopentanol and ethyl guaiacol.
Use in medicine
Creosote in medicine is used externally as a disinfectant and cauterizing agent. Internal use is recommended for chronic catarrh of the respiratory tract.
Farm use
Oriental beech wood has unique properties. However, it is not too resistant to decay. In terms of durability and strength, it is significantly inferior to chestnut, oak, and coniferous wood, so it is used less often in construction. It is mainly used in furniture production (previously bent Viennese furniture was made from it), in the manufacture of barrel stave and for the production of parquet. In addition, sleepers are made from it after preliminary impregnation with special compounds, roofing shingles.
Due to the plasticity of wood, musical instruments are made from it. Beech is a very popular material for the manufacture of handles for knives and gun stocks. Beech is a medium density breed with a high air permeability rate. Its wood easily absorbs moisture, and therefore needs special storage and processing conditions.
Flour is made from beech nuts, from which special cakes are baked. It is made from carefully peeled and well-roasted nuts. Adding a little wheat flour to it, you can get an excellent mixture for baking fritters, pancakes, crumbly cookies.
Beech nuts are a valuable nutritious food for animals that live in the Caucasian forests, for example, for wild boars. In addition, buried by animals in the ground, they give young shoots of beech forest. Beech branches are used as food for domestic goats and sheep.
High quality edible oil is made from nuts. It is painted in a light yellow color, in taste and nutritional value is not inferior to olive. In baking, they often replace almond and peanut butter. In addition, they are seasoned with salads, added to second and first courses, as well as to confectionery. The cake remaining after squeezing the oil is used to make a coffee substitute. Interestingly, beech is considered one of the sweetest trees. Chipping a piece of bark, you can collect healthy, sweet and very tasty beech juice.