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
Beech River Beech River The Beech River is a stream draining the east-central portion of West Tennessee in the United States. The Beech rises about northwest of Lexington, Tennessee. In the same area are the headwaters of two other West Tennessee rivers, the Big Sandy River and the Middle Fork of the Forked Deer River. The Big Sandy, like the Beech, is part of the Tennessee River system, whereas the Forked Deer system drains into the Mississippi River. The Beech River was named for the beech timber along its course. The Beech flows southeast into the town of Lexington and then primarily