American Beech

Today I decided to go funky,
And be poetic with this week's post.
I'm sorry if it is a bit chunky.
Although I love doing it most!

This tree's scientific name:
Fagus Grandifolia
Although this tree doesn't look like it,
It is NOT a magnolia.

I'm sorry. I couldn't keep doing that; I couldn't find any more rhymes. But, I can tell you more about it. It grows about 65-115 ft.(20-35 meters) tall, and the bark, as you can see in my photograph, is smooth all throughout its lifetime. The base of the tree is, interestingly, rough, and much like that of the oaks. The leaves are small, only growing from the more common 2.4(6 centimeters) inches, to the rarer 5.9 inches(15 centimeters). The fruit is a small, angled, nut that come in a four-spined shells. Until the invention of the chainsaw, beech trees were usually left uncut, making it possible for large groves of beech trees to not be uncommon in some one's backyard. The wood is mostly used for hardwood flooring, furniture, handles of cabinets and/or kitchenware. Sometimes it is used as an ornamental tree, but nowadays people are dumping American beech for the European Beech, because everything European is better than America. No, but the European Beech grows faster, and is more adaptable in the urban areas of the world. The leaves were used by Native Americans to help heal burns and scouling, and the bark was used to help with poison ivy rashes. There are many diseases that can only affect beeches, such as cankers, and in hot, dry weather, beeches can scorch.

That's all I have to say for this week. TTFN!