Copper or purple beech

A tree often planted in gardens and towns for its distinctive purple leaves.

What other names does it have?

Generic name	Beech
Latin name	Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea
Family name	Beech
Latin family name	Fagaceae

What type of tree is it?

Does it lose its leaves in autumn?	Yes, it is deciduous

Species description:

Average height	15-30m

Leaf

Description	The leaves are fringed with silky brown hairs and have 5 to 9 vein pairs
Shape	Oval
Size	Up to 10cm
Colour	Coppery to deep purple
Leaf bud	Coppery colour, torpedo or cigar shaped and up to 2cm long. The bud scales have a distinctive criss-cross pattern
Leaf stalk	Short stalk
Leaf arrangement	Alternate

Flower, seed, and fruit

Type of flower	Other
Fruit colour	Reddish brown
Type of seed body	Nut
Seeds dispersed by	Wildlife

Bark and twig

Bark description	Characteristically smooth grey bark sometimes with slight horizontal etchings
Twig Description	The slender grey twigs have a zig zag shape

What other trees are similar?

Can easily be confused with?	Common beech- which has dark green leaves instead of the purple colour

Where is it usually found?

Is it native or non-native to the British Isles?	Non-native - commonly planted
Where is its natural range?	This purple beech and others like is are cultivated varieties and so have no 'natural' range. But they can produce seedlings which do survive into large trees and are found in all sorts of places across the UK
Preferred soil type or environmental conditions?	It grows best on acid soils but does well on poor, very acid, sandy, shallow and chalky soils. Dislikes wet soils
What is its British conservation status?	Frequent

Additional information

Human uses of tree and timber

Like common beech the timber is used for fuel, furniture, piles, tool handles, kitchen utensils and sports equipment. Beech wood burns also well and is used to smoke herrings. The nuts were also important as a source of food, particularly for pigs! They are energy rich and could be used to fatten pigs up for market. In France the nuts are still sometimes roasted as a coffee substitute and they can also yield an oil which can be used in cooking or for oil lamps.

Tree lore and folklore

As with common beech there are few folklore records. It was thought to have medicinal properties though. In the past beech leaves were recommended as a relief for swellings, and boiling the leaves could make a poultice

Copper beech

Illustrations supplied by
Collins

BritishTrees