A large, impressive native tree with a dense canopy which casts deep shade in summer months and often prevents anything growing underneath. (Bluebells have evolved to come up and flower early in beech woodlands – before the beech leaves block out the light!) Beech trees produce small edible nuts (known as ‘masts’), which gave rise to the traditional practice of ‘pannage’, where pigs were allowed to graze in woodlands in the autumn.
