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
Cepaea sylvatica Cepaea sylvatica " Cepaea sylvatica" is a medium-sized species of air-breathing dextral land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Helicidae. It is a close relative of the grove snail ("Cepaea nemoralis"). This species lives in many of the same habitats as "Cepaea nemoralis", such as woods, dunes and grassland, however "C. sylvatica" tolerates wetter and colder areas than the grove snail can tolerate. "Cepaea sylvatica" is generally similar in appearance to "C. nemoralis", although the shell is not as colorful and not as variable as that of the grove snail. Also, the diameter of the shell of