Native to S. E. and Midland England. …. Dominant and climax tree on chalk and some well-drained sands. Much planted in policies, woods, gardens and parks in all parts. Frequent in shelter-belts, especially in s. Scotland, also as garden-hedges. Old pollarded trees in many areas. Survives moderately polluted air but not water-logged soils.
Crown. Young trees: slender, conic, rather gaunt. Old trees hugely domed, usually much branched; occasional survivors for the fellings of two world wars with 15-20m straight cylindrical bole. Variants common on chalklands include one with stiff, brush-like ascending shoots and one with long, arched branches like fishing-rods.
Growth. Height growth and lengthening of side-shoots occur in two periods; long, greyish-green, hanging shoots expending very rapidly during two weeks in May, and again in late July. Shoots of up to 1 m on young trees.
Quotes from A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe, Alan Mitchell, Collins, 1974, pp 220-221
Photos: Beechwoods, Cambridge, November 2016 – March 2017