Beech is a deciduous plant of the family Fagaceae. They have some unique features that make them significantly different from deciduous trees. Beech trees are considered one of the most majestic and beautiful tree varieties, creating a beautiful landscape. More than ten species of these trees can be found in many regions of North America, Europe and Asia.
Beech can be found in mountainous areas and in lowlands, and in any forests, this tree occupies a dominant position.
Trees grow and develop up to 40 meters in height, live up to 300 years, and are often found to be 400 years old.
A beech tree over 80 years old often forms a false core. At this age, the tree is susceptible to infection with fungal diseases through damage to the trunk and dead branches. Inside the stem, cells die, leading to the formation of this false nucleus.
Appearance – columnar trunks with a spherical, densely shady crown. The leaves are finely toothed along the edges and have an elliptical shape. Young spring leaves are bright green and covered with hairs; by mid-summer they become dark green and hairless.
In autumn, fallen beech leaves create such a dense layer that even herbaceous plants do not grow under it.
The bark is smooth, both in young and mature trees, and light gray or greenish in color.
Beech reproduces by small nuts that grow after pollination of female flowers by male ones. Male flowers are yellowish with red edges. They are located in catkins hanging from the branches. The female flowers are yellow and arranged in pairs. Male and female flowers grow on the same tree and are pollinated by the wind. Beech seeds - nuts - are used as livestock feed and forest animals feed on them. The nuts taste bitter and contain a lot of tannic acid.
They do not have a deep, but powerful, far-spreading root system, it is also called an anchor system, which allows them to firmly hold a tree growing up to 2 m in diameter.
Distinctive features of beech wood
A slow-growing tree, reaching up to 40 m in height and up to 150 cm in diameter, it has a well-developed cylindrical ring up to 20 m in height, devoid of branches.
The bark when young is smooth, thin, gray-green with a light sheen, and becomes silvery-gray with age, especially on limestone soils. The design is slightly grainy in the tangent plane, lightly shaded in the radial plane, and not very decorative.
The color of the wood is from yellow-red to reddish-brown, the false heartwood is from red to reddish-brown. The smell of wood is uncharacteristic.
Reproduction
Beech is propagated mainly vegetatively, using cuttings and branching off daughter shoots.
Planting material is taken from mature trees . Annual lateral branches are cut. The cuttings should be about 12–15 cm long and have several developed buds. The sections are treated with a growth stimulator and planted in boxes with a mixture of sand and garden soil. The soil is watered daily. The cuttings are kept under a film or glass cover for two weeks. Mineral fertilizers are periodically applied to the soil. The material is transferred to open ground after a year.
Daughter shoots often emerge from the root system of adult beech trees, which can be separated and transferred to a new location.
When propagating by layering, the young lower branches are tilted, a small circular cut is made in the bark, pinned to the ground, and sprinkled with soil. Before rooting, the cuttings are looked after by regular watering and feeding with nitrogenous fertilizers. After a year, the shoot should take root on its own.
Beech trees are propagated by professional breeders from seeds . Before sowing, the nuts are soaked in a warm solution of potassium permanganate, then deepened into the nutrient substrate. Contain seedlings at a temperature of 20 ° C, stable lighting. Seedlings are planted in open ground at the age of two years.
Characteristics of beech wood
Beech wood is a hard wood (Brinell hardness class III), of medium weight. It dries well, but when desorption is prone to cracking and warping.
Fresh beech wood has a resinous odor.
- Beech wood is susceptible to pests (insects) and fungi. It is not resistant to adverse weather conditions.
- The susceptibility of wood to fungal decay is higher during warm and humid periods.
- Increasing the resistance of wood to fungus and reducing the tendency to warp is achieved by steaming fresh lumber.
Wood lends itself to any processing methods. Beech is fine-grained, so it can be processed smoothly, and the fracture surface is smooth and has a high gloss.
This wood is also susceptible to peeling and bending (after steaming).
Beech wood is easy to surface treat - gluing, painting with varnish, staining and polishing. It has high saturation, with the exception of the false core, which cannot be impregnated.
Practical advantages of furniture
Beech furniture not only has an elegant appearance, but also a lot of remarkable advantages:
- Wear resistance. Even after many years of use, beech furniture will not wear out or lose its attractiveness, since the wood can withstand heavy use, friction and many other external influences. In addition, beech is very durable, so it will be difficult to break the furniture.
- Safety. Beech furniture is made from natural material - wood, which is highly environmentally friendly and natural. That is why beech products do not have a negative impact on humans and the environment. Children and all allergy sufferers can use the furniture. And, by the way, this tree does not cause splinters, which is also important.
- Versatility. Any furniture can be made from beech - chairs, tables, cabinets, kitchen furniture and numerous other products. Each item can be tinted, which will make individual furniture components different from each other, more original and exclusive.
- Attractiveness. Beech furniture always looks decent and fits well into any interior.
- Biostability. Products made from this wood are never subject to damage from insects and other organisms that can damage furniture and cause inconvenience to those living in the house.
- Availability. Despite the sophistication and external high cost, beech furniture can be purchased at an affordable price. This is an excellent opportunity to luxuriously furnish an apartment at a very reasonable price.
Beech furniture can decorate any interior, including modern ones. Let's figure out how.
Beech leaves
Beech leaves are hard, shiny on the outside and wavy at the edges, with clear lines of veins. After drying, they remain on the branches for a long time. Young leaves are tender and densely pubescent.
Regions of distribution of the beech tree
It grows in many places on the planet. Experts highlight the European beech (Fagus sylvatica),
- Native to Europe and Western Asia;
- Eastern beech (Fagus sylvatica subsp. Orientalis) is found in Southeast Europe and Western Asia,
- Beech (Fagus grandifolia) is found in eastern North America (from southern Canada through the United States to northern Mexico).
Place of growth
Most species live in the temperate climate zone of North America and Eurasia. Distributed everywhere in areas up to 2500 m above sea level. Prefer fertile soils . Beeches dominate in mixed and deciduous forests. Thick dark tree crowns shade low trees and shrubs. Usually, only a perennial grass substrate can be found near the trunks.
Trees are insensitive to lack of lighting and love moist, warm air. They cannot tolerate cold winds, prolonged winter frosts, or polluted atmospheres.
Growing and care
Beech trees have the highest demands on soil type. They need a fertile, fresh and clay area. Deciduous trees do not tolerate limestone and floodplain substrates, which harm their development. However, they are tolerant of soil acidity.
- Beech - tolerates sun and shade well, but varieties with multi-colored leaves are best planted in brighter places.
- Young plants should not be dried, as this may lead to their death.
- Young plant specimens should be covered before winter, adults should be frost-resistant.
Deciduous trees are a wonderful decoration for urban spaces, because they adapt well to any conditions.
Color palette
Furniture can be made from all kinds of beech, each of which is subjected to special processing, and they all differ from each other in their colors.
- "Light beech" . This material is painted in light golden or silver tones. Moreover, the coating can be either intense or translucent. Such furniture is used individually so as not to overload the interior of the room. It can fit well into high-tech and modern styles.
- "White beech." This material has a natural white-gray solid color. It is suitable for creating garden furniture.
- "Bleached beech" . The wood has the lightest possible shade. It is first thoroughly treated with steam, only after that it is painted with white paint and completely dried. The finished product produces structures with uniform coloring.
- "Bavaria". This model is considered the darkest. It can be suitable for both home and business office. A rich shade will visually emphasize the strength and durability of the furniture.
The shades of the material may vary depending on the conditions in which the beech grew. Thus, there are bases with yellow, pink tints, dark samples with a pronounced textured pattern. But at the same time, simple light beech still remains the standard; it is from this that furniture, especially children's furniture, is mainly made.
Application of beech wood
Veneer (beech is mainly used for edged veneer from plywood, laminated boards, pressed wood), wood for furniture, parquet.
There is also beech construction timber. This tree is used to create cars. Used in high-rise construction. Beech is used to make chipboard and fibreboard, paper and cellulose, sports equipment, barrels, boxes, benches, handles (tool holders), household appliances, wood wool, toys.
In addition, beech is used to produce wood vinegar, charcoal and tar oil. Suitable for turning.
Beech wood was commonly used as a raw material for the production of horse-drawn carriages (spokes, wheels, shock absorbers, struts, drawbars and towbars), plain bearing bushings, gears and pulleys in mill and agricultural machinery, parts for shipbuilding (keels, ship superstructures, sailing oars), elements of plows, trusses, harrow teeth, working plates of joiner's and carpenter's tables.
Currently, beech wood is valued as a raw material for the production of veneer, plywood, pressed wood and laminated boards. It is a major component of plywood used in the modeling and transportation industries to produce cargo boxes and bus seat structures.
Beech wood is suitable for parquet, chipboard and fibreboard, stairs, thresholds and cladding. It is also used in earth, water and high-rise construction (structures, formwork, supports) and in the mining industry.
- Beech is used for the production of boxes, barrels, tools, elements of cars and sports equipment, butts, musical instruments (for example, drums), toys and various everyday items.
- Beech wood is highly valued in the furniture industry. Used in the production of upholstered furniture frames and bent furniture parts, which are of great value if the raw material used is obtained from bleached wood without false core.
- Beech wood is used in the pulp and paper industry for the production of pulp and paper. Also required in the chemical industry for the production of vinegar, cotton wool and coal slurry.
Beech wood has a high calorific value; It ignites easily and burns for many hours with a steady, bright flame. Used as firewood and for smoking food products such as fish and pork.
Which one is better to choose?
To create a harmonious interior, you need to correctly combine the interior decoration of the rooms and furniture. If you prefer high-quality, reliable things with simple outlines, then choose beech furniture. A wide range of models allows you to choose suitable products for any design.
When choosing beech furniture, it is worth remembering that the cost of wood belongs to the middle price segment. Therefore, beech products cannot be cheap.
When buying furniture in a showroom, you should consider:
- The fittings must be of high quality and firmly fixed;
- It is preferable when cabinet doors and chest of drawers move smoothly;
- The surface of the frames should not have cracks;
- The legs of chests of drawers, cabinets and cabinets are stable;
- If the products are located in damp conditions or outdoors, the material must be impregnated.
When calculating the appropriate dimensions of furniture, take into account that it is placed away from heating devices and direct sunlight. Classic beech furniture is versatile. It fits into any interior and lasts a very long time. If necessary, the products can be repainted in other colors and coated with tinting varnishes.
