• leaves alternate, broad ovate, glossy dark green
• leaves margins wavy, smooth (compare to F. grandifolia)
• leaf veins do not end in bristle, only 5-10 present (compare to F. grandifolia)
• leaf color may differ due to abundance of purple-leaf cultivars; also, cut-leaf forms are common
• buds imbricate, conical, pointed
• stems slender, with zig-zag pattern
• bark smooth, silvery
• fruit is a nut held in a woody, bristly involucre
• habit is a large tree with spreading branches
• tree has a "muscular"-look, with a trunk resembling an elephant's foot

View Fagus sylvatica page in the UConn Plant Database