American Beech
Fagus grandifolia · Trees - Deciduous
Beech wood
New Hampshire, 10 October 2020
American beech, which holds its leaves after they die - a habit called marcescence - so a beech wood stays this coppery bronze well into winter while everything around it is bare.
Nobody is certain why. Deterring browsing deer, protecting next year's buds and delaying leaf litter until spring when the nutrients are more useful have all been proposed. Young trees do it more than old ones, which fits the deer explanation better than the others.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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