Weeping beech measure in length. Flowers appear in the spring and are inconspicuous. The beechnuts sit in a thin spiny husk and are less than 5 cm in diameter. The triangular beech nuts are popular in autumn with birds, mice and squirrels. The green leaves become copper-toned in the fall. In winter the skeleton of the silvery stem with its branches remains attractive. The purple pigment in the leaves acts like a sunscreen to protect its new leaves, which is particularly important for plants that grow at high altitudes where the sun is fierce. The tree is not native to North America
Beech bark disease second type of scale insect, "Xylococcus betulae", which is non-host-specific, is native to North America and causes beech bark disease to a lesser degree than "Cryptococcus fagisuga". There are two fungi common to North America that are important to the beech bark disease process. They are "Neonectria faginata" and "Neonectria ditissima". The primary fungus is "N. faginata", though "N. ditissima" is very important in some areas. These fungi infect the tree through the wounds caused by the beech scale insect and then begin to produce spores. Spores are contained in perithecia, which are red, lemon-shaped fruiting bodies that form in