C. Common Beech (Fagus sylvatica)

In Britain, we know the Oak (or Pedunculate Oak) to be the 'King of Trees'. We also know the Common Beech to be 'The Queen of Trees', and with good reason. Although we can see many Beeches throughout Worthing and the lanes of Sussex and southern England, these smooth barked, deciduous trees are anything but common. They are majestic trees of great beauty, having substantial canopies that consist of upward-reaching branches.

When mature, Beech trees can reach 45 metres in height with dense canopies of leaves. Lime green leaves grow darker throughout the growing season, losing their tiny hairs in the process. They are relatively small leaves, 4 to 8 centimetres in length, which explains why the canopies of these trees cast shade. These leaves have wavy edges and stay on the twigs until well into spring. They are monoecious trees, meaning that both male and female flowers grow on the same tree. Their tassel-shaped male catkins appear on stalks at the end of twigs, and female flowers appear in pairs.

As the female flowers are pollinated, small, triangular beech nuts begin to be formed. This pollination is the result of wind, not insect activity. Flower and seed production is more abundant after hot, dry summers, although this behaviour is rarely seen in successive hot summers.

The thin bark of Beech trees mean that they show scars such as lovers' initials for life, the tree being unable to heal itself.

Beech trees can be found across large parts of Europe. In England, they are more frequently found in the south-east where they prefer well-drained, often chalky ground. No surprise then that they are found on the South Downs. The north face of Newtimber Hill just north of Brighton has a fine stand of beeches, comfortably gripping the steep slopes, safely protected in that location from gales coming across from the Channel. Their root system is shallow, though it spreads out on the surface to gain the necessary purchase.

The largest old-growth or primeval forest of Beech trees is in south-west Ukraine, in the 22,000 acre Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh forest. The 12,000 acre forest of Izvoarele Nerei in Romania is another magnificent redoubt of the Beech tree. Trees in the former forest attain 500 years; both forest are home to brown bears, the grey wolf and the lynx.

Beech trees are of great importance to wildlife, in particular butterflies, moths, mice, squirrels and birds. As they age and their bark becomes gnarled and more textured, these trees will support a greater variety of birds, wood-boring insects, mosses and lichens.

These trees play a substantial role in capturing carbon and so are valuable in our fight against the effects of climate change. The individual shown here was planted by the Friends of Heene Cemetery on 26th November 2022 and enters our species list as number 500, it being the 500th species that has been recorded in Heene Cemetery. This tree, with luck, will have a lifespan of between 150 and 200 years, and it should reach maturity after 30 years.