European beech (forest) is a powerful deciduous tree with slender branches. The rays of the sun do not break through his crown, therefore, in his shadow you can escape from the summer heat. Forest beech lends itself to shearing and shaping, so it is used to create complex living walls and hedges.
This beautiful tree from the family of beech landscape designers use in the design of parks, gardens and squares. Its wood is processed for paper production, and the beneficial substances that make up the bark and leaves are used in cosmetology and medicine.
Spread
European beech is predominantly distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. The species range covers almost the whole of Western and partially Eastern Europe. In addition to it, another representative of the Bukovye family grows on this territory - Eastern beech. Majestic trees form magnificent parks in which soothing dusk and silence reign.
Forest beech, the photo of which we posted in this article, grows in Russia, Belarus, and Western Ukraine. The tree is undemanding to the composition of soils; it grows on almost any soil, although it develops better on loamy substrates. Moist and thermophilic, in severe climatic conditions freezes.
Beech tree: description
A tree up to fifty meters high is considered to be a long-liver. Beech lives to a very advanced age - 500 years. It rarely grows alone, often forms forests or groups in mixed forests. The heat-loving and shade-tolerant deciduous tree has a powerful crown, which is rounded at the top.
The trunk is columnar, on average, the diameter of adult trees is about one and a half meters, and centuries-old specimens have trunks with a diameter of about three meters. The crown is broadly cylindrical or ovoid, raised high above the ground.
Branches
Outstretched, thin. The maximum officially recorded area of the crown was 315 square meters! Young shoots are painted in light brown with whitish lentils tones. The bark on young trees is gray-brown, on adults - saturated gray, thin and smooth.
Fruiting
At the age of twenty to forty, European beech begins to bear fruit. In plantations, this period is shifted to 60 years. The tree gives an increase of up to 350 years.
Roots
The root system is shallow but powerful. The expressed core root is absent. In the forest, the roots of neighboring trees are often intertwined, and often grow together. In older representatives of the species, they grow, so they are called "root paws." From the stump, the shoots are renewed at the age of about sixty.
Leaves
Shiny, elliptical in shape, wavy at the edges, reach 10 cm in length. The tree is very beautiful not only in summer but also in autumn, when the foliage is painted in copper-yellow color. European beech is a monoecious plant that blooms in April-May. At the same time, leaf buds open.
Fruit
These are trihedral nuts about one and a half centimeters long, the shell of which is covered with soft short needles on the outside. The main part of nuts, as well as young growth of trees, is eaten by forest inhabitants - animals and birds. Throughout the range of beech growth, locals use fried kernels for food. Oil is squeezed out of them, and the cake is brewed as a drink, somewhat reminiscent of the taste of coffee. Nuts ground into flour are used for baking. It is interesting that, in accordance with popular belief, the larger the harvest of nuts on a beech, the more severe winter will be.
Beech wood
It is a very easy to grind and process material. Hard and dense wood is in demand in many industries. The veneer of the highest quality is made from it. By its properties, beech wood is superior to oak, therefore it is a sought-after raw material, which is appreciated for its strength, durability and aesthetic appearance.
It dries quite quickly, without leaving cracks. Dry is easily processed and finds a perfectly smooth surface. It is used for interior and exterior decoration, production of musical instruments, flooring, plywood, stairs. In the wood chemical industry, European beech wood is used to produce methyl alcohol, furfural, acetone. In addition, xylitol is obtained from wood - a sweetener, creosote and tar.
The healing properties of beech
Tar obtained from wood contains almost 5% creosote, a valuable substance with an unpleasant odor and taste. Preparations based on it have an anthelmintic, antimicrobial, disinfectant and cauterizing effect. They are successfully used in dentistry, as well as in the treatment of putrefactive and purulent processes in the lungs. This powerful antiseptic is effective in treating many skin diseases.
Use in traditional medicine
For herbalists and folk healers, the bark and leaves of European beech are of value. They are used in the treatment of:
- Gastrointestinal tract;
- diabetes
- skin, hair diseases;
- respiratory system.
Tea is the most common form of eating beech leaves as a medicine. Such a drink has a range of beneficial properties. Brew tea as follows: spoon (teaspoon) of chopped dry beech leaves, pour 250 ml of boiling water and let it brew for thirty minutes. When taken orally, 200 ml of the drink is prescribed three times a day before meals.
Leaf tea has several possible uses.
Outdoor
As compresses and lotions for wounds and ulcers. One of the main properties of beech-based drugs is healing and antiseptic.
Internal
As an additional tool in the treatment of diabetes, stomach pain tea improves appetite, has a calming effect on the nervous system.
Use of beech in other areas
- This tree is used in landscaping of parks and gardens. Today, many interesting varieties of European beech have appeared, which differ from the wild-growing form in leaf size, color, bark structure and crown shape. With a timely and skillful haircut, designers create magnificent hedges.
- We talked about the fact that beech wood is widely used in many industries, it is also in demand in the manufacture of furniture. I would like to add that beautiful furniture made of this wood is not suitable for outdoor use.
- When mixing beech ash with sand, green glass is obtained. Perhaps for this reason, sometimes bottles of such glass are called "forest". Unfortunately, due to the widespread use of ash potash, beech forests and groves were destroyed in many regions.
- In cosmetology, European beech kidney extract found application, and all thanks to its unique ability to saturate the skin with oxygen, rejuvenating it.
Contraindications
For food, the use of raw beech nuts that contain trimethylamine, a poisonous alkaloid, is contraindicated. It is destroyed by high temperatures, so the nucleoli need to be fried.