Scientific Name
Fagus sylvatica 'Pendula'
Undoubtedly two of the most spectacular and memorable trees on the Regis campus, the European weeping beeches at the northwest corner of Carroll Hall may make the onlooker ponder the question of what makes a tree a tree, as opposed to perhaps haystacks or equestrian monuments totally overwhelmed by uncontrolled vines. Any doubts should be erased if one peers through the mass of foliage and sees the stout 13-inch diameter trunk of the largest one, as silvery gray as any other European beech. When not in leaf, the revealed tangle of drooping branches of these trees is almost equally intriguing.
The largest of these two weeping beeches is second on the Colorado champion tree list, at a height of 19 feet. The largest in Colorado is just about double that height. Imagine that! As usual for the beech cultivars, aside from the key variation, the rest of the tree follows the standard beech model: oval leaves arranged alternately on the twigs, long and pointy winter buds with overlapping scales and silver-gray bark that stays smooth even as the tree gets very old. In the fall, the leaves turn a golden yellow or brown color.