Wharfeside Stroll #1: Mighty Fagus
The cache, a camo-taped plastic pot, is hidden at the base of this huge tree in this lovely riverine woodland.
To reach the cache location: (from the west) park @ or near N 53 54.957 W 1 44.698 on the approach road to the old mill complex and after securing your car, cross the road and pick up the small trail heading across the top of the woodland, down to and along the river.
(from the east) park @ or near N 53 54.578 W 1 43.635 in the lay-by and pass through the gate at its west end into the field and across to the trail running alongside the river.
The European or common beech (Fagus sylvatica) belongs to the beech family Fagaceae is a large deciduous tree up to 50m tall (developing a huge domed crown) and 3m trunk diameter, though more typically 25–35m and up to 1.5m respectively. It matures at 30 years and has a typical lifespan of 150–200 years, though sometimes up to 300 years. In cultivated forest stands trees are normally harvested at 80–120 years of age. Like most trees, its form depends on the location: in forest areas, it grows to over 30m with branches being high up on the trunk. In open locations, it will become much shorter (typically 15–24m) and more massive.
The leaves of beech are often not abscissed (shed) in the autumn and instead remain on the tree until the spring. This process is called marcescence. This particularly occurs when trees are saplings or when plants are clipped as a hedge (making beech hedges attractive screens, even in winter), but it also often continues to occur on the lower branches when the tree is mature.
It is monoecious, meaning both male and female flowers grow on the same tree, in April- May. The tassel-like male catkins hang from long stalks at the end of twigs, while female flowers grow in pairs, surrounded by a cup. This becomes woody once (wind) pollinated, and encloses one or two beech nuts (beech mast).
The natural range extends from southern Sweden to northern Sicily, west to France, southern England, northern Portugal, central Spain, and east to northwest Turkey.
Although often regarded as native in southern England, recent evidence suggests that it did not arrive in England until about 4000 BC, or 2,000 years after the English Channel formed after the ice ages; it could have been an early introduction by Stone age humans, who used the nuts for food.
A beech forest is very dark and few species of plant are able to survive below a dense beech canopy, where 
the sun barely reaches the ground. Young beeches prefer some shade and may grow poorly in full sunlight. In a clear-cut forest a European beech will germinate and then die of excessive dryness. Under oaks with sparse leaf cover it will quickly surpass them in height and, due to the beech's dense foliage, the oaks will die from lack of sunlight.
Its root system is shallow, even superficial, with large roots spreading out in all directions. European beech forms ectomycorrhizas (symbiotic relationships) with a range of fungi which are important in enhancing uptake of water and nutrients from the soil.
Spring leaf budding by the European beech is triggered by a combination of day length and temperature. Bud break each year is from the middle of April to the beginning of May, often with remarkable precision (within a few days).
It is a very popular ornamental tree in parks and large gardens in temperate regions of the world. It is frequently kept clipped to make attractive hedges.
Since the early 19th century there have been numerous cultivars of European beech made by horticultural selection, often repeatedly including the copper (or purple) beech or purple beech (Fagus sylvatica purpurea) with purple leaves. Several cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Value to wildlife: due to its dense canopy, rarer plant species are associated with beech woodland, such as box, coralroot bitter-cress, and a variety of orchids including red helleborine. Beech woodland makes an important habitat for many butterflies, particularly in open glades and along woodland rides. Its foliage is eaten by the caterpillars of a number of moths, including the barred hook-tip, clay triple-lines and olive crescent. The seeds are eaten by mice, voles, squirrels and birds.
Native truffle fungi grow in beech woods. These fungi are ectomycorrhizal, which means they help the host tree obtain nutrients in exchange for some of the sugar the tree produces through photosynthesis. Remember to take expert advice before picking or eating any wild fungi.
Because beech trees live for so long they provide habitats for many deadwood specialists such as hole-nesting birds and wood-boring insects. The bark is often home to a variety of fungi, mosses and lichens.
Mythology and symbolism: it is associated with femininity and is often considered the queen of British trees (see here), where oak is the king. In Celtic mythology, Fagus was the god of beech trees. It was thought to have medicinal properties – beech leaves were used to relieve swellings, and boiling the leaves could make a poultice. Forked beech twigs are also traditionally used for divining (or dowsing).
Uses: the timber is used for a many purposes, including fuel, furniture, cooking utensils, tool handles and sports equipment. The wood burns well and was traditionally used to smoke herring. The edible nuts, or masts, were once used to feed pigs, and in France they are still sometimes roasted and used as a coffee substitute.
Beech makes a popular hedging plant. If clipped it doesn't shed its leaves, and provides a year-round dense screen, which provides a great habitat for garden birds.
See here and here for more information on this attractive tree.
In 2015, a 44m beech thought to be >200 years old in the Newtimber Woods at the Devil's Dyke Estate in West Sussex was declared by registrar of the Tree Register to be the tallest native tree in Britain. The girthiest (fattest) beech is in Windsor Great Park, Surrey and has an 1,100cm girth (circumference) at 1.8m height.
See here for a short video 'A Year in the Life of a Beech Tree'.