For my phenology project this week, I took a nice walk to Crescent woods in pursuit of a tree I could easily find again in order to measure how this tree changes as the winter progresses. I ended up finding and American Beech Tree that caught my eye because this particular tree had a thinner sprout growing out of the bottom of its trunk. Despite being smaller than the thick OG trunk, this sprout was quite tall and still held on to its golden brown,ribbed leaves.
Look Alikes
In Winter, when it is harder to identify trees, Beech trees can look like young maple trees: Both have smooth gray bark. However, I was able to easily distinguish my beech tree from a young maple because of its alternate branching, terminal buds, and leaves. Maples have opposite branching but Beech trees have alternate branching. Additionally, beech trees have very easily recognizable, long cigar like buds whereas maples have much shorter buds with three humps or points. Lastly, (and this is the easiest identifier) young beech trees are one of the few hardwoods that retain their leaves in winter. The tree I chose had very obvious beech leaves (oblong, serrated leaves) rather than the palmately lobed leaves of a maple tree. Using these identifying features, I was able to distinguish my chosen American Beech tree from a young maple.
