Species profile
European Beech
Fagus sylvatica
2,438 on Toronto's streets — 0.35% of the city's catalogued canopy.
🍁 Fall colour Oct 20 – Nov 15: copper-bronze, leaves held into winter (marcescent)
Toronto history — European beech. Smooth grey bark, leaves held into winter as papery bronze. The city plants it sparingly; most big ones in Toronto are private-property heritage trees.
Fagus sylvatica, the European beech or common beech, is a large deciduous tree in the beech family with smooth silvery-grey bark, large leaf area, and a short trunk with low branches. It is native to much of Europe, growing in humid climates.
Planting profile (from the City of Toronto)
| Native to | Introduced (Europe) |
| Mature size | Large, 18m high by 15m wide |
| Growth rate | Slow |
| Sensitivity | Sensitive |
| Best site | Lawns |
| Of note | Smooth grey bark |
| Plants under overhead wires | No |
Where they cluster
| Neighbourhood | Trees |
|---|---|
| Rosedale-Moore Park | 179 |
| Forest Hill South | 140 |
| Casa Loma | 74 |
| Edenbridge-Humber Valley | 72 |
| Bedford Park-Nortown | 69 |
| Bridle Path-Sunnybrook-York Mills | 59 |
| Lawrence Park South | 53 |
| Princess-Rosethorn | 53 |
Notable specimens
- 160 cm DBH at 19 TUDOR GT · view →
- 150 cm DBH at 56 HARSHAW AVE · view →
- 134 cm DBH at 26 SIR WILLIAMS LANE · view →
- 132 cm DBH at 7 CHILTON RD · view →
- 125 cm DBH at 6 EASTVIEW CRES · view →
- 120 cm DBH at 42 WIMBLETON RD · view →
- 114 cm DBH at 45 GLENGOWAN RD · view →
- 113 cm DBH at 82 BRENTWOOD RD N · view →