This handsome tree located on the east side of the Campbell Student Union is a tricolor European beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Roseomarginata’). This cultivar differs from other European beech trees because it has red to purple leaves with bright rosy pink to creamy margins. This unique quality gives the appearance that the leaves are glowing in the sunlight. Its leaves will turn a golden yellow in October before turning brown and falling in late November.
Adding to their beauty, both European and American beech trees have smooth grayish to silvery bark that stands out in contrast to their leaves and is quite attractive in the winter months, after they have shed their leaves.
Often planted as a large ornamental specimen, this tree is commonly found on large private estates and college campuses, and in parks and cemeteries. This tree is smaller than the true species, growing 40 feet high by 30 feet wide in the landscape, but they still need space to grow.
The pictured tree was planted in 2012 and dedicated in 2021 as a tribute tree to the late Ross Kenzie, longtime supporter of Buffalo State College. Obviously, young beech trees grow rapidly. This long-lived species has a life expectancy of more than 100 years.
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Photo and information courtesy of Steven Sypniewski, manager of the Buffalo State College Maud Gordon Holmes Arboretum.