Habitat:
Sensitive to heat and dryness, it does not do well in Iowa, but if planted
in moist, well-drained soil in a cool, sheltered position, it will grow
in the eastern and central parts of the state. This tree is slow-growing
and long-lived:200 years or more. Most tree deaths are caused by drought.
Diseases: Beech bark disease is the most important disease, caused by infestations by beech scale insects followed by bark fungus infection. When stressed, trees are susceptible to leaf mottle or leaf scorch, a disease noted since the 1940's, the cause of which is not known. Diseased leaves will drop prematurely in July and a new, healthy set of leaves will grow. Pests include the chestnut borer, various caterpillars, aphid and scale.
Distribution: Of the 10 species that exist, only this species is native to North America. The American beech is a common forest tree in most of the eastern US to Wisconsin, extreme eastern and southern Illinois, and southeast Missouri.
