Copper beechKatharine Khamhaengwong, CC BY 4.0
Native, as a planted form of beech · Up to 40 m

Copper beech

Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea · Fagaceae

Copper beech is a big, dense tree, often planted on its own on a lawn. Its oval leaves open wine-red in spring and darken to deep purple by summer.

Know it byLeavesOval, up to 10 cm, with a wavy, hair-fringed edge.Beech mastPurplish tinge, dropping one or two shiny three-sided nuts.TwigsUp to 2 cm, held out at 60 degrees from a grey zig-zag shoot.

Then check · ShapeA broad, dense dome casting heavy shade, often with a single stem carried up to a small flat top.

How to identify a copper beech

Copper beech: leaves
Leaves

Oval, up to 10 cm, with a wavy, hair-fringed edge, opening wine-red and darkening through the summer to deep purple.

Beech mast

Prickly four-lobed woody husks with a purplish tinge, each splitting to drop one or two shiny three-sided nuts.

Twigs

Long copper buds up to 2 cm, sharply pointed, held out at 60 degrees from a slender grey zig-zag shoot.

Learn the copper beech in TreelyEvery part through the year, and a short round each day until you know it.Get Treely

Every part, in photographs

Copper beech leaves: oval and wavy-edged, wine-red to near-black
LeavesOval and wavy-edged, wine-red to near-black
Copper beech bark: smooth thin grey, with a graft swelling low downVictor Heng, CC BY 4.0
BarkSmooth thin grey, with a graft swelling low down
Copper beech shape: dark dome standing alone on mown grassKatharine Khamhaengwong, CC BY 4.0
ShapeDark dome standing alone on mown grass

When to look

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In leaf
Catkins
Beech mast

In leaf: April to November · Catkins: April to May · Beech mast: May to October

Every tree on the calendar

Where you’ll find it

Planted on lawns, in parks, along drives and in churchyards, in town and in open country alike. It does best where the air is humid and the ground drains, and it often stands on the side of a hill.

What it’s mistaken for

  • Common beechBoth are the same species, with the same bark and sharply pointed buds. Leaf. Copper beech: wine-red, darkening to deep purple. Common beech: pale lime, then bright green.
  • Purple-leaved plumBoth have purple leaves. Purple-leaved plum is the commonest tree of that colour in streets and front gardens. Shape. Copper beech: broad dense dome, to 40 m. Purple-leaved plum: small round head, to 8 m.

More oaks, beeches and sweet chestnut

Common beechFagus sylvaticaEnglish oakQuercus roburHolm oakQuercus ilexRed oakQuercus rubraSessile oakQuercus petraeaSweet chestnutCastanea sativaTurkey oakQuercus cerris
In the app

There’s more of the copper beech in Treely

  • Every part, through the yearLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed in every season
  • Its lookalikes, side by sideThe checks that settle it, part by part
  • A short round each dayUntil you know the copper beech on sight, from any side
  • Name it from a photoA leaf, the bark or a flower, and Treely tells you which tree
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Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.

Photographs: Katharine Khamhaengwong (CC BY 4.0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0), Victor Heng (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.