Fagus sylvatica include flower buds. The leaves of beech are often not abscissed in the autumn and instead remain on the tree until the spring. This process is called marcescence. This particularly occurs when trees are saplings or when plants are clipped as a hedge (making beech hedges attractive screens, even in winter), but it also often continues to occur on the lower branches when the tree is mature. Small quantities of seeds may be produced around 10 years of age, but not a heavy crop until the tree is at least 30 years old. "F. sylvatica" male flowers are borne in
Luzula sylvatica fruit is a 3-valved capsule containing three oblong seeds. Each seed is indistinctly reticulate, often with a caruncle (a basal or apical appendage); seeds tend to germinate close to their parent plant. "Luzula sylvatica" has a wide distribution, and is native to Europe (the European temperate element of flora ) and southwest Asia - including the British Isles where "L. sylvatica" populations are widespread stable, apart from a decline in central and south east England. There is one record of "L. sylvatica" from Washington State, United States of America. Usually growing in partial to full shade, "Luzula sylvatica" tends to