Fagus ferruginea, Fagus sylvatica.
Botanical name:
Fagus ferruginea Ait. Cupuliferae. American Beech.
North America. The nuts are esteemed delicious and are found in season in the Boston markets. Porcher says the young leaves are used by the common people of the South as a potherb. In Maine, the buds are eaten by the Indians.
Fagus sylvatica Linn. European Beech.
Europe. In Hanover, the oil of the nut is used as a salad oil and as a substitute for butter. In France, the nuts are roasted and serve as a substitute for coffee. Sawdust of beech wood is boiled in water, baked and then mixed with flour to form the material for bread in Norway and Sweden.
Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.
