The _bark_ is, perhaps, the most distinctive characteristic, as it
maintains an unbroken light gray surface throughout its life. So
tempting is this smooth expanse to the owner of a jack-knife that the
beech has been well designated the "initial tree."
The simple, oval _leaves_ are 3 to 4 inches long, pointed at the tip and
coarsely toothed along the margin. When mature, they are almost leathery
in texture. The beech produces a dense shade. The _winter buds_ are
long, slender and pointed.
The little, brown, three-sided beech-nuts are almost as well known as
chestnuts. They form usually in pairs in a prickly bur. The kernel is
sweet and edible, but so small as to offer insufficient reward for the
pains of biting open the thin-shelled husk.
The _wood_ of the beech is very hard, strong, and tough, though it will
not last long on exposure to weather or in the soil. It is used to some
extent for furniture, flooring, carpenter's tools, and novelty wares and
extensively in southern Illinois for railroad ties and car stock.
The American chestnut, _Castanea dentata_ Borkh., extends its range
from Maine to Michigan, and southward to Delaware and Tennessee. There
is a stand of chestnuts in Pulaski County and some trees have been
planted in the southern part of the State. They are easily recognized
by their alternate simple, broadly lanceolate coarsely toothed leaves,
and their prickly burs about 2 inches in diameter containing 1-3 nuts.