From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The European beech or Fagus sylvatica is a forest tree that is relatively well resistent to shade, native to much of Europe north to southern Sweden and south to southern Italy; in the south of its range, it is restricted to mountains.
It is often regarded as native in southern Britain, but recent evidence has shown that it did not arrive in Britain until about 4,000 BC, or 2,000 years after the English Channel formed after the ice ages, and it was almost certainly an early introduction by Stone age man, who used the nuts for food.
