Beech
Beech is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America. Recent classification systems of the genus recognize ten to thirteen species in two distinct subgenera,
Engleriana and
Fagus. The
Engleriana subgenus is found only in East Asia, and is notably distinct from the
Fagus subgenus in that these beeches are low-branching trees, often made up of several major trunks with yellowish bark. Further differentiating characteristics include the whitish bloom on the underside of the leaves, the visible tertiary leaf veins, and a long, smooth cupule-peduncle.
Fagus japonica,
Fagus engleriana, and the species
F. okamotoi, proposed by the bontanist Chung-Fu Shen in 1992, comprise this subgenus. The more well-known
Fagus subgenus beeches are high-branching with tall, stout trunks and smooth silver-grey bark. This group includes
Fagus sylvatica,
Fagus grandifolia,
Fagus crenata,
Fagus lucida,
Fagus longipetiolata, and
Fagus hayatae.