Fagus orientalis

Oriental beech in the beech or Fagaceae family is native from Romania, Bulgaria and the Balkans to the Caucasus where it once covered extensive areas of Greece, Turkey and northern Iran, especially at altitudes lower than where F. sylvatica was found.

• Leaves are alternate, simple, oval, untoothed, wavy-margined and prominently veined and large (up to 20 cm long and 13 cm across). They have up to 12 pairs of veins where European beech (F. sylvatica) has less than 10. Foliage is dark green and smooth above and silky hairy below, turning to orange in autumn with dried leaves remaining on the tree over the winter.
• Flowers are small and yellow in clusters in mid spring.
• Fruits include 1–3 small edible nuts encased in a soft-spined husk up to 2.5 cm long.
• Buds are orange, narrow, sharp-pointed and up to 2.5 cm long. Bark is light gray, furrowed and smooth.