Fagus orientalis tree's natural range extends from southeastern Bulgaria's Strandja mountain, through northwest Turkey, and east to the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia and Russia, to the Alborz Mountains in Iran. Its habitat is restricted to mountain forests, at of altitude. The Oriental beech has colonized even lower altitudes in the Strandja mountain of Bulgaria as low as above sea-level, due to the unique local micro-climate, where it forms typical "Fagus orientalis"−"Rhododendron ponticum" forests as well as with other evergreen shrubs. The wood of "Fagus orientalis" is heavy, hard, strong and highly resistant to shock. These features makes it suitable for steam bending.
Nyssa sylvatica in the Northeast is "pepperidge." On Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts, this species is called "beetlebung", perhaps for its use in making the mallet known as a beetle, used for hammering bungs (stoppers) into barrels. "Nyssa sylvatica" grows to tall, rarely to , with a trunk diameter of , rarely up to . These trees typically have a straight trunk with the branches extending outward at right angles. The bark is dark gray and flaky when young, but it becomes furrowed with age, resembling alligator hide on very old stems. The twigs of this tree are reddish-brown, usually hidden by a