VIDEO: Differences between European beech and hornbeam

European beech as a large tree or opaque hedge

The common beech (Fagus sylvatica), also known as the common beech, is a Deciduous treewhich is native to large parts of Europe. The name beech is of Germanic origin. The red beech probably owes its name to its reddish-brown wood. The species name "sylvestris" indicates the place where it grew, the forest.

The common beech belongs to the beech family and can reach heights of up to 35 meters. It bears flowers from the age of 30 to 50 years. The leaves stay on the plant in winter, so red beech hedges are particularly dense all year round. It is windproof, frost-hardy, very pruning and shade-tolerant and therefore a very good city tree.

The fast-growing Fagus sylvatica can live up to 200 years. The first shoot between April and May is quickly 40 centimeters. The crown is expansive and can reach a diameter between 20 and 30 meters. A difference to the Hornbeam represent the fruits of the common beech, known as beechnuts.

Hornbeam brings structure to the garden

The hornbeam (Carpinus), also known as the hornbeam or hornbeam, belongs to the genus of hornbeams and to the birch family. Its name comes from the Old High German "haganbuoche", where "hag" means something like hedge or fence. The term white beech refers to the white to grayish-white wood of this deciduous wood.

The hornbeam is a deciduous tree that is up to 25 meters high and can reach an age of 300 years. Its fruits are up to one and a half centimeters in size, single-seeded nuts that are equipped with three wings. These screw-winged birds can fly up to a kilometer in wind and thus contribute to the spread of the seeds.

This robust and very cut-compatible beech species is very suitable as a hedge plant. The fruits stick to the tree in winter and thus help numerous birds hibernate. The hornbeam, like the common beech, is monoecious, that is, male and female flowers are attached to a tree. The main difference between European beech and hornbeam relates to the external appearance (habitus).

Differences between the two types of beech

Different features at a glance
characteristics	European beech	Hornbeam
Plant family	Beech family	Birch family
sheet	silky hair after bud later leaf surface glabrous, shiny and slightly wavy The edge of the leaf is wavy and smooth with long, silky eyelash hairs 5-10 cm long, 3-7 cm wide Leaves pale yellow in autumn, later orange-red to red-brown	Leaf surface strongly corrugated Leaf margin jagged pointed Leaf upper side dark green, Underside lighter and slightly hairy on leaf veins Leaves bright yellow in autumn
bark	smooth and lead-gray at any age	silver gray, light or dark gray and smooth with a light mesh pattern smooth and slightly twisted when young in old age, a network-like furrowed structure
Fruits / seeds	from September about two millimeter long nuts (beechnuts) Fruits strong brown, growing individually and upright with a woody fruit shell, edible	from September six to fifteen millimeters long, oval ribbed nuts on three-lobed bracts (wings) Fruit stand light green, hanging in the form of grapes