Beech leaf shoots (red beech leaves)

Beech leaf shoots are the edible leaves of the common beech ( Fagus sylvatica ) that sprout in spring. In colloquial language, the common beech is usually referred to as a beech.

Use in the kitchen:

Can you eat beech leaves? The leaves of the red beech tree do not contain any toxins. Beech leaf shoots taste slightly sour and are reminiscent of sorrel or wood sorrel. Older leaves are hard and tough and are only edible when chopped up.

Beech leaf shoots are a popular raw food ingredient in spring salads, smoothies or fresh juices. The young leaves are ideal for making pesto, spreads, patties, spinach or chopped herb mixtures. They taste great as a flavoring in drinks, in vegetables, soups, herb dips, vegetable fillings or raw - freshly picked from the tree.

Other edible parts of the beech tree are beechnuts . These are the three-edged, 1 to 1.5 centimetre long, shiny chestnut-brown nuts of the red beech tree. Roasted, beechnuts can also be used as a coffee substitute. ¹

Beechnuts were used as food by humans, especially in times of need. However, due to the toxins contained in beechnuts (cyanogenic glycosides or hydrocyanic acid, alkaloids and fagin or trimethylamine), consumption in large quantities is not recommended. Beechnut oil also contains a toxic residue. ^2,3

Vegan recipe for spread with beech leaf shoots:

Chop 20 g of young, light green beech leaves, 20 g of garlic mustard , 50 g of cooked red lentils , 1 medium-sized tomato and 10 g of soaked sultanas with a hand blender or an electric coffee grinder until you get the desired consistency. Then season the spread with turmeric , salt andpepper . Serve with bread or vegetable sticks for dipping.

Instead of beech leaf shoots, you can use fresh young leaves and shoots of linden, maple, oak or birch . The leaves should be clean and free of lice and caterpillars.

Vegan spread with beech leaves and cashews:

For this creamy spread, puree the following ingredients with a powerful hand blender: 60 young, light green beech leaves (pieces), 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds , 2 tablespoons cashews , 50 g cucumber , 3 tablespoons rapeseed oil , 10 raisins , salt, pepper, chili flakes and - depending on your preference - ¼ clove of garlic . The author, Katharina Petzholdt , also recommends this spread as a pesto for pasta dishes. You can find beautiful pictures of it on her website gruene-toene.de by searching for "beech leaves". ⁴

Recipe for beech bark tea:

Beech bark can be used to make a tea that is used in naturopathy (see further down in the chapter "Folk Medicine - Naturopathy"). ⁵ To do this, boil 30 g of chopped beech bark with 250 ml of water. Then let the tea steep for 5 minutes and strain it. Drink 1-2 cups of this daily.

Shopping - where to buy?

Beech leaves are very rarely available in stores - as shrimp, snail or crab food in pet shops or online. These are dried, fully grown leaves in a brown color that are not suitable for human consumption. Supermarkets such as Rewe , Edeka , Spar , Coop , Migros , Aldi , Lidl , Denner , Volg , Hofer etc. or organic supermarket chains such as Alnatura and Denns do not stock beech leaf shoots.

Found in the wild - Season:

Where does the beech grow? Typical locations for common beech trees are deciduous forests, bushes, meadows or parks. ⁵

Copper beeches are deciduous trees and can reach heights of 30 m, or up to 45 m in dense forests. The trunk diameter can be up to 2 m and the bark is usually smooth and light grey. Free-standing copper beeches can form spreading crowns with a diameter of 20-30 m when they are older, with branches that reach almost to the ground. In the forest, the copper beech grows slender and the crown base is often at a height of 10-20 m, as the lower branches die early due to a lack of light. ⁶

What do beech leaves look like? The 7-10 cm long and up to 5 cm wide leaves of the common beech are egg-shaped, with a wavy, sometimes slightly notched leaf edge. In spring, the leaves are delicate and light green, in summer they are shiny dark green on top and light green underneath. ⁶

Season: In spring, the red beech trees sprout. The silky, hairy, fresh green and tender beech leaf shoots can be harvested from April to May. The leaf stalks should be soft enough to be crushed with your fingers. ^5,6

Tip: When collecting, it is best to carry a fact sheet with the most important plant characteristics with you in order to be able to clearly identify the wild plants.

Storage:

Young beech leaves and beech leaf shoots should be used fresh, frozen or gently dried. To do this, you can spread them out on a kitchen towel and leave them to dry in the fresh air. The plant parts should not be exposed to direct sunlight. If the plant parts rustle when you touch them, they are dry and you can chop them up with scissors. Paper bags, metal cans or brown jars are suitable for storage. ⁷

Ingredients - nutritional value - calories:

Fresh beech leaves contain 0.26% vitamin C. The dried leaves also contain vitamin C. Beech leaves also contain flavonoids (the flavonol glycosides quercetin, kaempferol, isoquercetin), caffeic acid, leucocyanidin, triterpene saponins, amino acids and waxes. ⁸

Health aspects - Effects:

The medicinal effects of beech have not yet been scientifically confirmed by the European Committee for Herbal Medicinal Products . ⁹

Dangers - Intolerances - Side effects:

Are beech leaves poisonous? Beech shoots and beech leaves do not contain any toxins. The fruits, i.e. the beech nuts, are slightly poisonous. The seeds can be detoxified by soaking, washing them several times and throwing away the (cooking) water, or by roasting them. Chopping and moistening activates the enzyme ß-glucosidase, which enzymatically breaks down the cyanogenic glycosides in beech nuts. Subsequent heating causes the hydrogen cyanide to evaporate. ^10,11

Use as a medicinal plant:

Although beech is a traditionally used medicinal plant, it has not yet received a scientific evaluation from the Committee for Herbal Medicinal Products . ⁹

The Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products ( HMPC ) is an expert committee of the European Medicines Agency ( EMA ). Since 2004, this committee has been producing monographs for herbal medicinal products that reflect the current state of scientific knowledge within the EU from a regulatory perspective. The 158 HMPC monographs (as of 2018) provide scientifically based information on the effectiveness and safety of medicinal plants and on the preparation of herbal medicinal drugs. The HMPC divides plants into two categories: "Well-established use" includes medicinal plants for which there is evidence of safety and effectiveness. Medicinal plants that the committee categorizes as "traditional use" are accepted due to sufficient safety data and plausible effectiveness. ^12,13

Folk medicine - natural healing:

Beech leaves are considered to have anti-inflammatory properties. They were chewed in the past to treat gum problems and were used as wound dressings for ulcers. ¹⁰

Beech bark tea has a fever-reducing, antiseptic (anti-germ), stimulating and expectorant effect. In naturopathy, the tea is used to relieve respiratory diseases and chronic bronchitis. ^3.5 Beech bark tea can be drunk as a home remedy against flu infections and internal parasite infestations. ⁸

Beechwood tar was used, especially in the past, in various preparations for skin diseases, to relieve itching and to treat gout and rheumatism. The active ingredients of beech tar are guaiacol and creosote. Beechwood is the main source of medically used creosote (tar oil). ^2,3,5

Charcoal made from beech wood is a component of remedies for digestive problems, varicose veins and cardiovascular problems. The smoke from beech wood, which may have a disinfectant effect, is also used therapeutically. ⁵

Occurrence - Origin:

During the last ice age (115,000-11,700 years ago), the common beech survived in the Mediterranean region. Around 10,000 years ago, it reclaimed its European distribution area. Beech pollen first appeared in the later warm period 4,800 years ago near Göttingen (D). ⁶

According to Wikipedia , the common beech is the most common deciduous tree in German forests today, accounting for 15% of the total. In Switzerland, the beech makes up 19% of the forests, and in Austria, 10%. In Central Europe, the common beech is the only native beech species. The tree species is considered an indicator plant for an Atlantic climate. ⁶

The common beech is widespread between southern Scandinavia and Sicily. In Eastern Europe and southern Scandinavia it occurs at altitudes of up to 500 m, in Western Europe up to 1,500 m and in the Southern Alps it reaches at least 1,850 m. In a west-east direction, the common beech is most widespread on the Atlantic coast of France. In the east it occurs in the Carpathians of western Ukraine and in subcontinental Poland in protected mixed forests. The Crimean beech (Nothospecies Fagus × taurica ), a hybrid species, grows in the mountains of Crimea. ⁶

Cultivation in the garden:

In the garden, the beech is a popular hedge plant. It is planted at intervals of 45-60 cm. For a single tree, an area with a diameter of 10-15 m should be planned. The decorative deciduous trees look particularly good in large gardens and parks. Beeches get along well with deep-rooted trees. ^3,14

Beeches prefer sunny to partially shaded locations that are also sheltered from the wind, especially in the first few years. The soil should not be too acidic, slightly moist and loose. Clay soils can be mixed with sand and acidic soils should be limed beforehand. Beeches are best planted in autumn or early spring. A sufficiently large planting hole can be improved with mature compost. The seedling should not be planted too deeply. Finally, tie the young beech to a support post and water it well. ¹⁴

Danger of confusion:

Beech leaves can easily be confused with hornbeam leaves, which are also edible. However, there is no danger of confusion in the true sense of the word, because the leaves of the hornbeam ( Carpinus betulus ) are much more jagged and do not grow with the eyelashes that are typical of common beech leaves. ¹⁵

Animal protection - species protection - animal welfare:

The beech aphid Phyllaphis fagi (L.) lives on the leaves of the common beech and is an important producer of honeydew. To date, this species has received little attention in beekeeping literature. The beech leaf nectar flow is mainly in the last third of May and the first third of June. The honeydew on the undersides of the leaves solidifies quickly, which is why most bees can only collect it in the early morning hours. In rolled-up leaves, the honeydew stays liquid for longer. ¹⁶

In general, however, the beech is less popular with bees than other trees. Spruce, fir, pine, larch, maple and linden provide significant amounts of honeydew in Central Europe. ¹⁷

General information:

The common beech ( Fagus sylvatica ) belongs to the beech genus ( Fagus ) within the beech family ( Fagaceae ). In everyday language it is usually referred to as a beech. The botanical spelling red beech underlines its membership in the beech genus. Since the common beech is the only beech species ( Fagus ) native to Central Europe, the species name is often omitted. ⁶

The hornbeam ( Carpinus betulus ), also called white beech, is also native to Europe and forms its own genus in the birch family (Betulaceae). Birch and beech plants both belong to the order of beech trees (Fagales). ⁶

Alternative names:

The European beech is often simply called a beech. Other alternative names and spellings are common beech, red beech or "mother of the forest".

In English the beech is called beech.

Keywords for use:

Use of leaves as bedding, cattle feed ⁶ and pig feed. ³

Literature - Sources: