Family Portraits - The Fagales
Fagaceae - the Beech Family
Here are some digital images that I took of Beech and Red Oak.
Beech - Fagus sylvaticus
Smooth light-colored bark, simple serrate leaves, fruit is a nut. The image on the right shows the spiny cupules (involucres); each one has opened up and released two fruits or beech nuts (not shown).
Red Oak - Quercus rubra
Branch showing alternate, lobed leaves with bristle tips, and clustered buds. There is a mature acorn from the previous year and several tiny female flowers of the current year. Can you spot them in the leaf axils about half way along the branch?
Here is a close-up look at three leaf axils. One has a bud, the other two each have a pair of female flowers (one missing).
