Fagus sylvatica 'purpurea' - Copper Beech

Copper beech tree

Taxonomy

Phylum: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Sapindales

Family: Fagaceae

Beech trees are attractive throughout the year, and the copper beech, a cultivar, is especially so. Copper beeches self-seed successfully, and they are to be seen in hedgerows and at the edge of woodland as well as in formal parks and gardens.

Although not abundant in Wales, there are some extremely fine specimens of copper beech to be seen, and they are a special delight in springtime, as the leaves turn from olive and pale tan to their summer colour of burnished copper.

 

Copper beech leaves