A wide-spreading, deciduous tree, 50' to 70' tall and up to 120' wide. Leaves alternate, simple, elliptical to oblong-ovate, 2 1/2 to 5 1/2 inches long, pinnately-veined, 11-14 pairs of veins, with each vein ending in a sharp distinct tooth, shiny green above, very waxy and smooth, slightly paler below. Flower monoecious; male flowers borne on globose heads hanging from a slender 1 inch stalk, female flowers borne on shorter spikes, appearing just after leaves in the spring. Nuts are irregularly triangular, shiny brown and edible, found in pairs within a woody husk covered with spines, 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, maturing in the fall. Twig very slender, zigzag, light brown in color; buds are long (3/4 inch), light brown, and slender, covered with overlapping scales, widely divergent from the stems, almost looking like long thorns. The bark is smooth, thin, and gray in color even on the largest stems.

Abortifacient, antiseptic, depurative, tonic and vermifuge.

American Beech
Floridata
Plants for a Future

To treat frostbite, burns, poison ivy rash etc (leaves); in the treatment of lung ailments (bark); for fever, jaundice, nephrosis, rheumatism and tuberculosis.