The beech tree surpasses all other species in hardness, so in ancient druids it is considered a symbol of inviolability and strength. According to the horoscope of this people, the beech tree rules the winter solstice. It occurs in December, approximately on the 21st or 22nd day, depending on the characteristics of the year. The mission of the people born these days is to establish and maintain a clear order.
The beech tree in the plant world is a relative of yet another strong man with whom Russian folklore likes to compare strong and hardy people - oak. The opinion of the Czechs on this issue is slightly different. For them, the mighty and slender beech tree is the standard of strength and beauty. And to argue with this is not necessary.
Let's pay attention to the height and width that the beech tree reaches. The photo attached to this article demonstrates its greatness well. It is enough to say that it reaches forty meters in height, and it can expand to two meters or more over its long life, lasting up to four hundred years and older. Its trunk thickens constantly regardless of age. At the same time, it continues to grow up to eighty years, and maturity occurs at sixty when fruiting begins. True, in those cases when the beech tree grows apart, the properties associated with procreation, he begins to show earlier. Then its nuts can be seen at forty or even twenty years old.
They ripen in prickly boxes. Seeds have a trihedral shape. Their taste is very pleasant, reminds cedar kernels. Only forest residents know that there are beech nuts to be used with caution. Their seed is covered with a thin film containing poison, so they are collected in the woods and carried home, where after a simple heat treatment - roasting in a hot frying pan - they are weaved for both cheeks, because it is a highly nutritious and healthy product. In addition, they are very tasty!
If we already started talking about reproduction, then it is appropriate to add that the first flowers on the beech appear in late spring. First, male inflorescences blossom. Female - in about a week. Beech pollen is sticky, therefore heavy. Gusts of wind pick it up and transfer it to the pistils of female flowers. After pollination, the nuts develop slowly, until the fall. Then the tree gently strews the ground with its foliage. And on this litter throws fruit. And from above it covers them, like a blanket, with a new layer of fallen leaves. So nuts are kept from frost and winter in comfortable conditions.
In the Middle Ages, difficult and hungry times were often in Western Europe. Beech nuts saved people from death. Therefore, the famous world-renowned scientist Karl Linnaeus called this tree “Fagus” in his works. And it is right. After all, beech nourishes almost all the inhabitants of the wild. Thanks to its nuts in winter and early spring, when it is difficult to feed, not only all small rodents, such as bunnies, squirrels and wild boars, but also roe deer, elk and bears are saved from death.
The powerful crown of this tree forms a deciduous cover covering an area of a thousand square meters or more, which gives excellent protection against dust and gas contamination, as well as plentiful humidification of the air, ensuring a clean and tidy environment.