Scientific Name
Fagus sylvatica 'Asplenifolia'
The cutleaf European beech is a unique and beautiful cultivar of the common forest tree of western Europe. Most of the different ornamental beech cultivars originated in Europe as, after all, that is where the billions of those trees occur furnishing a hunting ground for mutations and unusual variations. The cutleaf beech (also called the Fernleaf beech) has leaves that are deeply notched and jagged instead of the usual oval shape. This gives the tree a lacy look that is very different from a typical beech tree. In most other respects this tree’s features are typical of the standard European beech. It has the classic smooth light gray bark, the long-pointed cone shaped buds in winter, the golden yellow fall color and leaves that sometimes remain on the lower branches of the tree for months after the first freezes.
Currently the largest cutleaf European beech is at the Denver Botanic Gardens with a height of 34 feet and a trunk diameter of 17 inches. The Regis specimen is second on the list at 22 feet tall with a trunk at 6.5 inches wide. These trees can grow as large as a plain species European beech, though the site at Regis will probably not allow for a tree that large.