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.
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