Fagus sylvatica Suentelensis

Fagus sylvatica Suentelensis is a beautiful form of twisted beech that can be admired in the Süntel region of Germany. This tree has a remarkable silhouette throughout the seasons due to its wide and curiously twisted framework. Its leafy crown is very dense, forming a curious green parasol in the summer. Like all beech trees, its foliage turns a beautiful orange-yellow in autumn and remains on the branches until the end of winter. A fascinating tree that seems to come straight out of Germanic legends, it should be placed as a solitary tree in a park or large garden.

Fagus sylvatica Suentelensis is part of a group of beech trees under the term Fagus sylvatica group Tortuosa. The suentelensis form represents a German population of twisted beech trees located near the town of Süntel. It is characterised by branches that are both twisted and partially fused. It is a deciduous tree with slow to very slow growth, capable of living between 300 and 500 years. Eventually, it can reach a height of 8 to 9 m with a spread of 8 to 11 m and can live for a very long time. Its cylindrical, massive, short, twisted trunk is covered with smooth light grey bark. Its crown is wide, quite irregular, supported by twisted and bent main branches. These branches themselves branch out into secondary branches that sometimes twist to the ground and are capable of rooting. Its foliage is particularly dense, composed of oval leaves arranged alternately on the branches measuring 4 to 10 cm long, and shiny green. They take on a decorative orange-yellow in autumn. These leaves are marcescent, meaning they dry up while remaining on the tree and only fall to the ground in late winter, just before the arrival of new leaves.

The flowers of the twisted beech appear at the same time as the leaves, from April to May. The male flowers are yellow and arranged in pendulous catkins measuring 40 to 60 mm. The female flowers are green and grouped in 2 to 4 at the end of the branches. Fagus sylvatica Suentelensis produces brown, glossy beech nuts covered in bristly prickles. These fruits, measuring 12 to 18 mm long, are edible in small quantities. Mountain dwellers used to use them to make flour.

A magnificent specimen to be planted in a large garden, the twisted beech is not suitable for small spaces. It thrives particularly well in moist, well-drained, humus-rich soils. However, it can be trained as a topiary to reduce its size or grown as a bonsai. There are other twisted trees and shrubs of all sizes that will delight collectors.

The cause of the peculiar growth habit of twisted beech trees is still unexplained.