Place

Purple Beech

Fagus sylvatica cv. purpurea

The smooth skinned tree on your right is the purple beech, a variety of the European beech. The dark purple leaves give it a beautiful appearance, especially when the sun strikes it. Beech trees produce beech nuts which are used in Europe to fatten hogs and produce vegetable oil. This tree will have to live to 30 years old before it produces beech nuts. The word “beech” is very old and means “book.” The first printed bible was produced in the fifteenth century by Guttenberg on a printing press that used movable type carved from beechwood.

Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site

Last updated: April 7, 2021