Fern-leaved beech (Atrophy)

The technical term for the fern-leaved beech is “Fagus sylvatica var. heterophylla ‘Aspleniifolia’”. As the lustrous leaves of the tree are long and narrow and have pointed lobes, they look like fern. The fern-leaved beech is a deciduous tree with dark green leaves that change their color into yellow in fall. In the spring, the trees grow yellow-green blossoms that develop into prickly beechnuts in the summer and are ripe in the fall.[1]

Young fern-leaved beeches have a pyramidal shape and a dense foliage. When they grow older, they develop a broad and open crown. Fern-leaved beeches have a silky gray bark and can grow up to 80 feet tall. The perfect planting location for such a tree is a full sun or part shade place and the soil should be deep, rich, moist, and well-drained. Fern-leaved beeches do not like wet, poorly drained soils and they are difficult to transplant.[2]

Sources:

[1] “Fagus sylvatica var. heterophylla ‘Aspleniifolia’ (Fern-Leaved Beech).” Gardenia. Creating Gardens, https://www.gardenia.net/plant/Fagus-sylvatica-Aspleniifolia. Accessed 12 Sept. 2019.

[2] “Fagus sylvatica var. heterophylla ‘Aspleniifolia’ (Fern-Leaved Beech).” Gardenia. Creating Gardens, www.gardenia.net/plant/Fagus-sylvatica-Aspleniifolia. Accessed 12 Sept. 2019.

Image:

Pierre-Auguste Renoir: La Loge. 1874. https://1tq45j21k9qr27g1703pgsja-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/renoir-1280x640.jpg