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
Parornix fagivora continues living freely under a folded leaf margin or leaf tip. Parornix fagivora Parornix fagivora is a moth of the Gracillariidae family. It is found from Sweden to the Pyrenees, Italy and Albania and from Great Britain to southern Russia. The wingspan is 11–14 mm. The larvae feed on "Fagus sylvatica", including subspecies "Fagus sylvatica orientalis". They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a small lower-surface epidermal corridor with reddish brown frass. Later, it becomes a small rectangular full depth blotch with black frass. The larva deposits only little silk in the mine, that remains