Fagus grandifolia this is not considered distinct in the Flora of North America. The Mexican beech ("Fagus mexicana"), native to the mountains of central Mexico, is closely related, and is sometimes treated as a subspecies of American beech, but more often as a distinct species. The only "Fagus" species found in the Western Hemisphere (assuming "F. mexicana" is treated as a subspecies), "F. grandifolia" is believed to have spanned the width of the North American continent all the way to the Pacific coast before the last ice age. It is a deciduous tree growing to tall, with smooth, silver-gray bark. The leaves
Fagus sylvatica in the buds. In autumn, the tree builds the reserves that will sustain it into spring. Given good conditions, a bud can produce a shoot with up to ten or more leaves. The terminal bud emits a hormonal substance in the spring that halts the development of additional buds. This tendency, though very strong at the beginning of their existence, becomes weaker in older trees. It is only after the budding that root growth of the year begins. The first roots to appear are very thin (with a diameter of less than 0.5 mm). Later, after a wave of above