Fagus orientalis the buds include flower buds. The flowers are small catkins which appear shortly after the leaves in spring. The seeds are small triangular nuts long and wide at the base; there are two nuts in each cupule, maturing in the autumn 5–6 months after pollination. The cupule differs from that of European Beech in having flattened, slightly leaf-like appendages at the base (slender, soft spines in European Beech). "Fagus orientalis" is closely related to the "Fagus sylvatica" (European Beech), and intergrades with it in the Balkans and northwestern Turkey. These hybrids with European Beech are named "Fagus × taurica". The
Nyssa sylvatica in the Northeast is "pepperidge." On Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts, this species is called "beetlebung", perhaps for its use in making the mallet known as a beetle, used for hammering bungs (stoppers) into barrels. "Nyssa sylvatica" grows to tall, rarely to , with a trunk diameter of , rarely up to . These trees typically have a straight trunk with the branches extending outward at right angles. The bark is dark gray and flaky when young, but it becomes furrowed with age, resembling alligator hide on very old stems. The twigs of this tree are reddish-brown, usually hidden by a