Beech cupules. The husk can have a variety of spine- to scale-like appendages, the character of which is, in addition to leaf shape, one of the primary ways beeches are differentiated. The nuts are edible, though bitter (though not nearly as bitter as acorns) with a high tannin content, and are called beechnuts or beechmast. The name of the tree (Latin "fagus", whence the species name; cognate with English "beech") is of Indo-European origin, and played an important role in early debates on the geographical origins of the Indo-European people. Greek φηγός is from the same root, but the word was
Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh primeval beech forest m/ha and volume of 582 m/ha. In addition, the volume of standing and lying deadwood was 163 m/ha. The vertical structure of this forest consisted of mainly three layers. Most gaps in the canopy cover were not larger than the crown of a canopy tree. Two ecological hiking trails have been created for visitors to the primeval beech forest of Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh: Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh primeval beech forest The protected forest area, Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh, is located in the Trancarpathian region of Ukraine and belongs to the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve. It is the largest primeval beech forest worldwide with an area of