The fruit of the red beech is the beechnut
Beechnuts are small nuts that ripen in a prickly fruit cup. Two, occasionally up to four beechnuts grow in each fruit cluster.
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- How long does the flowering time of the European beech last?
- The fruits of the common beech are poisonous
- How to plant a European beech!
When ripe, the fruit cups break open and the beechnuts fall to the ground. There they are eaten by animals or taken to storage for the winter. Wear through it squirrel, Mice and birds contribute to the reproduction of the common beech.
Beech nuts contain a lot of oil and are therefore a basic food source for roe deer, deer and other forest dwellers.
This is what beechnuts look like
- Shape: triangular
- Color: brown
- Size: 2 cm long
- Number: 2 to 4 per fruit cluster
When are beechnuts ripe?
Beechnuts ripen from September to October. If you want to sow the beech trees yourself, you can simply collect them in the forest.
Look for more beechnuts than you need. Not every fruit will actually germinate later.
Propagate European beech from seeds
Beech nuts can be used grow new beeches. It must be noted that the seeds are stratified, i.e. have to go through a longer cold phase. If you don't get the beechnuts in autumn If you want to sow directly outside, you can put them in a dark container in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
Beechnuts are dark germs that only germinate when they are covered by earth or by leaves in the forest. The fruits are sown in small pots or directly outside.
Some of the seeds germinate in the next spring and can be planted out when the trees are big enough.
A common beech only bears fruit after 40 years
European beeches are only manageable when they are around 40 years of age. Before that, they do not form beechnuts that are suitable for sowing. If a European beech tree is cut frequently, it will not bear any blossoms and therefore no beechnuts in autumn.
The fruits of the common beech are slightly poisonous
Beechnuts contain fagin and oxalic acid. Both substances dissolve easily in humans Symptoms of intoxication the end. This is also the case with horses.
If you want to eat beechnuts, roast them beforehand or heat them in another way. By heating the toxins are neutralized and the beechnuts become edible. Only then do you get a real aroma.
In times of hunger, beechnuts were often on the table. The nuts are very nutritious due to the high proportion of oils.
Tips
Adult European beech do not bear much fruit every year. In some years the ground is littered with beechnuts, while in others there is hardly a fruit hanging on the tree. This is a natural process and does not mean that the tree is sick.
