Beech houses, and log cabins. Beech wood is used for the stocks of military rifles when traditionally preferred woods such as walnut are scarce or unavailable or as a lower-cost alternative. The fruit of the beech tree, known as beechnuts or mast, is found in small burrs that drop from the tree in autumn. They are small, roughly triangular and edible, with a bitter, astringent, or in some cases, mild and nut-like taste. They have a high enough fat content that they can be pressed for edible oil. Fresh from the tree, beech leaves in spring are a fine salad vegetable,
Beech that the modern word derives. In modern German, the word for "book" is "Buch," with "Buche" meaning "beech tree". In modern Dutch, the word for "book" is "boek," with "beuk" meaning "beech tree". In Swedish, these words are the same, "bok" meaning both "beech tree" and "book". Similarly, in Russian, the word for beech is бук ("buk"), while that for "letter" (as in a letter of the alphabet) is буква ("bukva"). The pigment bistre was made from beech wood soot. Beech litter raking as a replacement for straw in husbandry is an old nontimber practice in forest management that has