Fa-ga'se-e. L. Fag-us + aceae, fr. Gr.

to eat,

the beech - 1. e., in allusion to the esculent nuts once used as food. Trees, shrubs. Distinguished by alternate irregular leaves; fruit in a bur or cupule - pistillate involucre; flowers monoecious, staminate, aments, stamens 5-20, pistillate, spikes 1-3, or scaly catkins, involucre; petals none; ovary inferior, 2-6-celled, ovules 1-2 in each cell; fruit 1-seeded nut; temperate climates, tropics; astringent, seed edible valuable timber. Genus: 1. Quercus.