Beech trees are monoecious, producing both male and female flowers on one tree. The pale, brownish blooms aren’t showy. The American beech produces edible brown fruit called beechnuts, typically 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches in size, contained in husks covered in soft spines.

What do beech tree nuts look like?

Beechnuts have a spiky exterior husk that pops open when ripe, revealing two small nuts, each oddly shaped with 3 pointed sides. Inside the outer husk, the seeds have a fibrous inner shell, that you can easily remove with a fingernail (once the nuts are dried and cured).

How can you tell a beech from a birch?

The confusion with beech trees stems from the fact the beech also has light-colored bark and serrated leaves. But unlike the birch, beeches have smooth bark that often has a skin-like appearance and they tend to grow considerably taller than birches, with thicker trunks and branches.