Featured in: Year 1: Plants
Beech
Tree
A tall, graceful tree with smooth, grey bark.
How to identify:
Look for its smooth, grey bark (which looks a bit like an elephant's leg), its oval leaves with wavy edges, and its prickly, four-lobed seed cases.
💡 Fun Facts
- Beech woodland has a very dense canopy of leaves in summer, which means the woodland floor is often very dark.
- The nuts inside the seed cases are edible and are sometimes called 'beechmast'.
- Beech trees keep their dead, copper-coloured leaves on their branches all through the winter, only losing them when the new leaves grow.
📅 Through the Year
- Leaf-out:April to May
- Flowering:April to May
- Fruiting:September to October
- Leaf fall:October to November