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46-774: E. W. Russell has described the Sand Plains as follows, "The landscape today forms a sharp contrast with the surrounding flat, fertile farmland, which is almost all cleared of trees and planted in crops. Uplands, including some dunes, support forest vegetation of American beech , white oak ( Quercus alba ), red and sugar maples , white and pitch pine ( Pinus strobus and P. rigida ), gray birch ( Betula populifolia ), hemlock , aspen ( Populus spp.), American elm , and other northern hardwood species. Some uplands are also characterized as pitch pine heaths, dominated by pitch pines with an understory of blueberries ( Vaccinium spp.) and other related ( ericaceous ) shrubs. Pitch pine

92-399: A behavior known as " marcescence " whereby dead leaves are not shed in the fall and remain on the tree until being blown off by the weather. This is caused by incomplete development of the abscission layer. It is mainly seen in the seedling and sapling stage, although mature trees may have marcescence of leaves on the lower branches. A number of deciduous plants remove nitrogen and carbon from

138-484: A character returns from the Civil War with a wooden leg he carved from beechwood. Deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany , the term deciduous ( / d ɪ ˈ s ɪ dʒ u . ə s / ) means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves , usually in the autumn ; to the shedding of petals , after flowering; and to

184-602: A greater rate of transpiration (and hence CO 2 uptake as this occurs when stomata are open) during the summer growth period. The deciduous characteristic has developed repeatedly among woody plants. Trees include maple , many oaks and nothofagus , elm , beech , aspen , and birch , among others, as well as a number of coniferous genera , such as larch and Metasequoia . Deciduous shrubs include honeysuckle , viburnum , and many others. Most temperate woody vines are also deciduous, including grapes , poison ivy , Virginia creeper , wisteria , etc. The characteristic

230-408: A short petiole . The winter twigs are distinctive among North American trees, being long and slender ( 15–20 millimetres or 5 ⁄ 8 – 3 ⁄ 4 inch by 2–3 mm or 3 ⁄ 32 – 1 ⁄ 8  in) with two rows of overlapping scales on the buds. Beech buds are distinctly thin and long, resembling cigars; this characteristic makes beech trees relatively easy to identify. The tree

276-442: Is monoecious , with flowers of both sexes on the same tree. The fruit is a small, sharply-angled nut , borne in pairs in a soft-spined, four-lobed husk. It has two means of reproduction: one is through the usual dispersal of seedlings, and the other is through root sprouts, which grow into new trees. Trees in the southern half of the range are sometimes distinguished as a variety, F. grandifolia var. caroliniana , but this

322-606: Is a deciduous woody shrub found in Japan . Forests where a majority of the trees lose their foliage at the end of the typical growing season are called deciduous forests. These forests are found in many areas worldwide and have distinctive ecosystems, understory growth, and soil dynamics. Two distinctive types of deciduous forests are found growing around the world. Temperate deciduous forest biomes are plant communities distributed in North and South America, Asia, Southern slopes of

368-405: Is an important tree in forestry . The wood is hard and difficult to cut or split, although at 43 pounds per cubic foot (0.69 g/cm ) it is not exceptionally heavy, and it also rots relatively easily. It is used for a wide variety of purposes, most notably bentwood furniture as beech wood easily bends when steamed. It also makes high quality, long-burning firewood. Like European beech bark,

414-657: Is believed to have spanned the width of the North American continent all the way to the Pacific coast before the last ice age . Two subspecies are generally recognized: The genus name Fagus is Latin for "beech", and the specific epithet grandifolia comes from grandis "large" and folium "leaf", in reference to the American beech's larger leaves when compared to the European beech . The American beech

460-700: Is completed (marked by the transition from bright green spring leaves to dark green summer ones) the chlorophyll level in the leaves remains stable until cool temperatures arrive in autumn. When autumn arrives and the days are shorter or when plants are drought-stressed, the chlorophyll steadily breaks down, allowing other pigments present in the leaf to become apparent and resulting in non-green colored foliage. The brightest leaf colors are produced when days grow short and nights are cool, but remain above freezing. These other pigments include carotenoids that are yellow, brown, and orange. Anthocyanin pigments produce red and purple colors, though they are not always present in

506-400: Is formed between the leaf petiole and the stem. This layer is formed in the spring during active new growth of the leaf; it consists of layers of cells that can separate from each other. The cells are sensitive to a plant hormone called auxin that is produced by the leaf and other parts of the plant. When auxin coming from the leaf is produced at a rate consistent with that from the body of

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552-405: Is more often associated with sugar maple (forming the beech–maple climax community ), yellow birch , and eastern hemlock , typically on moist, well-drained slopes and rich bottomlands. Near its southern limit, it often shares canopy dominance with southern magnolia . Although it has a reputation for slow growth (sometimes only 13 feet in 20 years), rich soil and ample moisture will greatly speed

598-521: Is native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario in southeastern Canada, west to Wisconsin and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida in the United States, as well as the states of Hidalgo, Veracruz, Tamaulipas, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, and Tabasco in Mexico. Mature specimens are rare in lowland areas as early settlers quickly discovered that the presence of

644-595: Is not considered distinct in the Flora of North America. The Mexican beech ( F. grandifolia subsp. mexicana ), native to the mountains of central Mexico , is closely related, and is treated as a subspecies of American beech, but some botanists classify it as a distinct species. The only Fagus species found in the Western Hemisphere (assuming the Mexican subspecies is treated as such), F. grandifolia

690-520: Is the characteristic tree of the wetlands, along with aspen, gray birch, and red maple, along with an ericaceous shrub layer." Among the several rare species in the Sand Plains are the purple pitcher plant and a sundew (both of which are carnivorous plants ), red-shouldered hawks , martens , and the frosted elfin butterfly, which is a threatened species in New York State. Other species to be found include wild blue lupine (also rare, and

736-530: Is useful in plant identification; for instance in parts of Southern California and the American Southeast , deciduous and evergreen oak species may grow side by side. Periods of leaf fall often coincide with seasons: winter in the case of cool-climate plants or the dry-season in the case of tropical plants, however there are no deciduous species among tree-like monocotyledonous plants, e.g. palms , yuccas , and dracaenas . The hydrangea hirta

782-495: The Pleistocene epoch , the tree flourished over most of North America, reaching California. Fagus grandifolia is a large deciduous tree growing to 16–35 metres (52–115 feet) tall, with smooth, silver-gray bark . The leaves are dark green, simple and sparsely-toothed with small teeth that terminate each vein, 6–12 centimetres ( 2 + 1 ⁄ 4 – 4 + 3 ⁄ 4 inches) long (rarely 15 cm or 6 in), with

828-456: The dry season or other seasons, depending on variations in rainfall . The converse of deciduous is evergreen , where foliage is shed on a different schedule from deciduous plants, therefore appearing to remain green year round because not all the leaves are shed at the same time. Plants that are intermediate may be called semi-deciduous ; they lose old foliage as new growth begins. Other plants are semi-evergreen and lose their leaves before

874-503: The foliage before they are shed and store them in the form of proteins in the vacuoles of parenchyma cells in the roots and the inner bark. In the spring, these proteins are used as a nitrogen source during the growth of new leaves or flowers. Plants with deciduous foliage have advantages and disadvantages compared to plants with evergreen foliage. Since deciduous plants lose their leaves to conserve water or to better survive winter weather conditions, they must regrow new foliage during

920-468: The American beech and also to the related European beech . The beech leaf-miner weevil , a species native to Europe, has been identified in North America as a cause of defoliation of American beech trees. American beech trees have small gaps and crevices at the base of their trunks in which the pest overwinter before eventually making their way to the buds of the trees and finally laying eggs on

966-472: The American beech bark is smooth and uniform, making it an attraction for people to carve names, dates, decorative symbols such as love hearts or gang identifiers, and other material into its surface. One such beech tree in Louisville, Kentucky , in what is now the southern part of Iroquois Park , bore the legend " D. Boone kill a Bar 1803." The beech finally fell over in 1916 during a storm; its age

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1012-583: The European beech scale insect, Cryptococcus fagisuga , attacks the bark, creating a wound that is then infected by Neonectria ditissima or Neonectria faginata , two species of fungi . This causes a canker to develop and the tree is eventually killed. Beech leaf disease is caused by the nematode Litylenchus crenatae mccannii . It was discovered in Ohio in 2012 and identified as far south as Virginia in 2022. Beech leaf disease causes severe damage to

1058-844: The Himalayas, Europe and for cultivation purposes in Oceania. They have formed under climatic conditions which have great seasonable temperature variability. Growth occurs during warm summers, leaf drop in autumn, and dormancy during cold winters. These seasonally distinctive communities have diverse life forms that are impacted greatly by the seasonality of their climate, mainly temperature and precipitation rates. These varying and regionally different ecological conditions produce distinctive forest plant communities in different regions. Tropical and subtropical deciduous forest biomes have developed in response not to seasonal temperature variations but to seasonal rainfall patterns. During prolonged dry periods

1104-545: The NYSDEC in 2008; the map shows the location of three foot trails maintained by the NYSDEC and one by the Izaak Walton League. A consolidated management plan involving all five preserves, and addressing the entire Sand Plains area, was published in 2006. The sand plains are considered by geologists to be a relic of Lake Iroquois , which was a somewhat larger version of the present Lake Ontario that existed near

1150-540: The Sand Plains have been purchased by the NYSDEC, and are designated as the Rome Sand Plains Unique Area . The Nature Conservancy holds another 1,000 acres (4.0 km). The Izaak Walton League holds about 440 acres (1.8 km), Oneida County holds an additional 770 acres (3.1 km) as a County Forest, and a few acres are held by the City of Rome. A map showing these holdings was released by

1196-428: The earliest trees to lose their leaves in the fall. In sub-Arctic climates such as Alaska , leaves begin turning colors as early as August. However, for most temperate regions it takes place in late September through early November and in subtropical climates such as the southern US, it may be November into December. Leaf drop or abscission involves complex physiological signals and changes within plants. When leafout

1242-672: The end of the last ice age about twelve thousand years ago. The level of Lake Iroquois was about 100 feet (30 m) higher than Lake Ontario's present level. Lake Iroquois drained to the Atlantic Ocean through the Mohawk and Hudson rivers, and its outlet was near the present Sand Plains. Lake Ontario's outlet is near the Thousand Islands , and the lake drains through the Saint Lawrence River ; this outlet

1288-701: The fall months and the Western United States as it has more evergreen and fewer deciduous plants, combined with the West Coast and its maritime climate. ( See also : Autumn leaf color ) Most of the Southern Hemisphere lacks deciduous plants due to its milder winters and smaller landmass, most of which is nearer the equator with only far southern South America and the southern island of New Zealand producing distinct fall colors. The beginnings of leaf drop starts when an abscission layer

1334-591: The flowers can be damaged by frost or, in dry season regions, result in water stress on the plant. Spring leafout and fall leaf drop are triggered by a combination of daylight and air temperatures. The exact conditions required will vary with the species, but generally more cold-tolerant genera such as Salix will leaf-out earlier and lose their leaves later, while genera such as Fraxinus and Juglans can only grow in warm, frost-free conditions so they need at least 13 hours of daylight and air temperatures of around 70 °F (21 °C) to leaf out. They will be among

1380-426: The foliage is dropped to conserve water and prevent death from drought. Leaf drop is not seasonally dependent as it is in temperate climates. It can occur any time of year and varies by region of the world. Even within a small local area there can be variations in the timing and duration of leaf drop; different sides of the same mountain and areas that have high water tables or areas along streams and rivers can produce

1426-588: The food for the frosted elfin), barrens buckmoth ( Hemileuca maia ), whippoorwill , pine warbler and pitch pine , normally indigenous to coastal areas. The Rome Sand Plains were owned privately through about 1980. The sand was mined to make molds and cores for metal casting. An application for a permit to mine sand around 1980 triggered a regional effort to protect the area. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) began purchasing lands, working with The Nature Conservancy and other organizations. Approximately 1,700 acres (6.9 km) of

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1472-417: The humid maritime climate and lower overall species diversity . It is also a factor that the continental United States and southern Canada are at a lower latitude than northern Europe, so the sun during the fall months is higher and stronger. This combination of strong sun and cool temperatures leads to more intense fall colors. The Southern United States also has poor fall colors due to warm temperatures during

1518-470: The leaves. Rather, they are produced in the foliage in late summer, when sugars are trapped in the leaves after the process of abscission begins. Parts of the world that have showy displays of bright autumn colors are limited to locations where days become short and nights are cool. The New England region of the United States and southeastern Canada tend to produce particularly good autumn colors for this reason, with Europe producing generally poorer colors due to

1564-412: The next growing season, retaining some during winter or dry periods. Many deciduous plants flower during the period when they are leafless, as this increases the effectiveness of pollination . The absence of leaves improves wind transmission of pollen for wind-pollinated plants and increases the visibility of the flowers to insects in insect-pollinated plants. This strategy is not without risks, as

1610-783: The next suitable growing season; this uses resources which evergreens do not need to expend. Evergreens suffer greater water loss during the winter and they also can experience greater predation pressure , especially when small. Deciduous trees experience much less branch and trunk breakage from glaze ice storms when leafless, and plants can reduce water loss due to the reduction in availability of liquid water during cold winter days. Losing leaves in winter may reduce damage from insects; repairing leaves and keeping them functional may be more costly than just losing and regrowing them. Removing leaves also reduces cavitation which can damage xylem vessels in plants. This then allows deciduous plants to have xylem vessels with larger diameters and therefore

1656-469: The plant, the cells of the abscission layer remain connected; in autumn, or when under stress, the auxin flow from the leaf decreases or stops, triggering cellular elongation within the abscission layer. The elongation of these cells breaks the connection between the different cell layers, allowing the leaf to break away from the plant. It also forms a layer that seals the break, so the plant does not lose sap. Some trees, particularly oaks and beeches, exhibit

1702-519: The primary foods of the now-extinct passenger pigeon ; the clearing of beech and oak forests is pointed to as one of the major factors that may have contributed to the bird's extinction. Some Lepidoptera caterpillars feed on beeches. Deer occasionally browse on beech foliage, but it is not a preferred food. Beech bark disease has become a major killer of beech trees in the Northeastern United States. This disease occurs when

1748-624: The process up. American beech favours a well-watered, but also well-drained spot and is intolerant of urban pollution, salt, and soil compaction. It also casts heavy shade and is an extremely thirsty tree with high moisture requirements compared to oaks, so it has a dense, shallow root system. The mast (crop of nuts) from American beech provides food for numerous species of animals. Among vertebrates alone, these include various birds including ruffed grouse and wild turkeys, raccoons, foxes, white-tailed deer, rabbits, squirrels, opossums, pheasants, black bears, and porcupines. Beech nuts were one of

1794-486: The shedding of ripe fruit . The antonym of deciduous in the botanical sense is evergreen . Generally, the term "deciduous" means "the dropping of a part that is no longer needed or useful" and the "falling away after its purpose is finished". In plants, it is the result of natural processes. "Deciduous" has a similar meaning when referring to animal parts, such as deciduous antlers in deer , deciduous teeth (baby teeth) in some mammals (including humans); or decidua ,

1840-439: The tree indicated good farmland. The American beech is a shade-tolerant species, commonly found in forests in the final stage of succession . Few trees in its natural range other than sugar maple match it for shade tolerance. Ecological succession is essentially the process of forests changing their composition through time; it is a pattern of events often observed on disturbed sites. Although sometimes found in pure stands, it

1886-639: The tree is about 40 years old. Large crops are produced by 60 years. The oldest documented tree is 246 years old. The fruit is a triangle-shaped shell containing 2–3 nuts inside, but many of them do not fill in, especially on solitary trees. Beech nuts are sweet and nutritious, can be eaten raw by wildlife and humans, or can be cooked. They can also be roasted and ground into a coffee substitute . The leaves are edible when cooked. The inner bark can be dried and pulverized into bread flour as an emergency food. Numerous place names in North America are named Beechwood . In John Steinbeck 's novel East of Eden ,

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1932-409: The trees. Despite their high moisture needs, beeches succumb to flooding easily and their thin bark invites damage from animals, fire, and human activities. Late spring frosts can cause complete defoliation of the tree, although they typically recover by using reserve pools of sugar. The trunks of mature beeches often rot and develop cavities that are used by wildlife for habitation. American beech

1978-402: The underside of the leaves. Once hatched, the larvae mine the leaves, causing destruction to the foliage. Beech blight aphids colonize branches of the tree, but without serious harm to otherwise healthy trees. Below these colonies, deposits of sooty mold develop caused by the fungus Scorias spongiosa growing saprophytically on the honeydew the insects exude. This is also harmless to

2024-464: The uterine lining that sheds off after birth. In botany and horticulture , deciduous plants , including trees , shrubs and herbaceous perennials, are those that lose all of their leaves for part of the year. This process is called abscission . In some cases leaf loss coincides with winter—namely in temperate or polar climates . In other parts of the world, including tropical, subtropical, and arid regions, plants lose their leaves during

2070-457: Was dammed by ice in the period when Lake Iroquois existed. Fagus grandifolia Fagus grandifolia var. typica Rehder Fagus grandifolia , the American beech or North American beech , is the only species of beech native to North America. Its current range comprises the eastern United States, isolated pockets of Mexico and southeastern Canada. Prior to the glacial maximum of

2116-548: Was estimated at around 325 years. Its trunk is now on display at the Filson Historical Society . It is sometimes planted as an ornamental tree, but even within its native area, it is planted much less often than the European beech. Although American beech can handle hotter climates, its European cousin is faster-growing and more pollution-tolerant, in addition to being easier to propagate. American beech does not produce significant quantities of nuts until

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