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
The Poem Tree The Poem Tree The Poem Tree was a beech tree with a poem carved into it by Joseph Tubb, located on Castle Hill at Wittenham Clumps in Oxfordshire, England. The tree, which was believed to be around 300 years old, collapsed through a combination of long-standing rot and inclement weather in July 2012. It died in the 1990s and after that, rotted completely while standing. The poem was carved in the 1840s. A stone, including a transcription and rubbing of the poem, was erected close to the tree in 1994 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the carving. Tubb carved