Faux de Verzy Faux de Verzy A Fau de Verzy is either a Dwarf Beech ("Fagus sylvatica" variety "tortuosa"), a dwarf oak tree, or a dwarf chestnut tree. These grow in the forest of Verzy, 25 km south of Reims in France. In this forest are less than a thousand dwarf beeches, some dozen dwarf oaks and some dwarf chestnuts (see Biology below), but this article speaks in the main about dwarf beeches. The word designated the beech in Old French (the plural was ); this word came from the Latin , now the French word for beech is that has a Germanic
Fagus sylvatica depends on the location: in forest areas, "F. sylvatica" grows to over , with branches being high up on the trunk. In open locations, it will become much shorter (typically ) and more massive. The leaves are alternate, simple, and entire or with a slightly crenate margin, 5–10 cm long and 3–7 cm broad, with 6–7 veins on each side of the leaf (7–10 veins in "Fagus orientalis"). When crenate, there is one point at each vein tip, never any points between the veins. The buds are long and slender, long and thick, but thicker (to ) where the buds