How to Identify American Beech Wood (Fagus grandifolia)

American Beech, Fagus grandifolia: color, grain, end grain, Janka hardness (1,300 lbf) and weight, and how to tell it from Hard (Sugar) Maple, quoted from the USDA Wood Handbook and The Wood Database.

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At a glance

Scientific name: Fagus grandifolia
Type: Hardwood
Origin: Eastern North America
Color: Typically a pale cream color, sometimes with a pink or brown hue; quartersawn surfaces show silvery fleck patterns.
Grain and texture: Grain is straight, with a fine to medium uniform texture and moderate natural luster.
End grain: Diffuse porous (sometimes closer to semi-ring-porous with visible growth-ring boundaries); pores solitary and in radial multiples, small to medium, numerous; parenchyma not visible even with a 10x lens; rays medium to very wide, normal spacing, noded.
Janka hardness: 1,300 lbf
Specific gravity (12% MC): 0.64
Other clue: No characteristic odor; wide, silvery rays create a distinctive fleck pattern on quartersawn surfaces that distinguishes it from maple and sycamore.

What American Beech looks like

Typically a pale cream color, sometimes with a pink or brown hue; quartersawn surfaces show silvery fleck patterns. Grain is straight, with a fine to medium uniform texture and moderate natural luster. End grain: Diffuse porous (sometimes closer to semi-ring-porous with visible growth-ring boundaries); pores solitary and in radial multiples, small to medium, numerous; parenchyma not visible even with a 10x lens; rays medium to very wide, normal spacing, noded.

Hardness and weight

Janka hardness 1,300 lbf (side hardness: the force needed to embed a 0.444-inch steel ball to half its diameter). Specific gravity 0.64 at 12% moisture content, so a cubic foot weighs roughly 40 lb. Weight in the hand is one of the quickest checks: compare a piece of known size against a board you already know.

American Beech vs Hard (Sugar) Maple

Beech's very wide, noded rays create a stronger silvery fleck pattern on quartersawn faces than maple's narrower rays, while sycamore's rays are medium-to-very-wide but with wide spacing and an interlocked (not straight) grain; beech also has a pale cream color versus maple's whiter tone. The Hard (Sugar) Maple page has its own details.

Smell, weight and other clues

No characteristic odor; wide, silvery rays create a distinctive fleck pattern on quartersawn surfaces that distinguishes it from maple and sycamore.

Where you will meet it

Lumber, veneer, flooring, crates/pallets, railroad ties, musical instruments, furniture, turned objects, and other small wooden objects.

Working it

Good overall workability; machines, glues, finishes, and turns well and responds superbly to steam-bending, but shows significant dimensional movement in service; European beech reported as a sensitizer causing eye, skin, and respiratory irritation.

How to photograph it for identification

Photograph a freshly cut or sanded face in daylight, not a finished or stained surface, since stain hides color and finish flattens grain. Add a close-up of the end grain: cut a clean end, wet it or sand it to 220, and shoot from straight on; pore pattern and rays are the most reliable marks. Put a ruler in frame. The app suggests the likely species; confirm with the end grain and weight.

FAQ

How hard is American Beech?

Janka hardness 1,300 lbf. For comparison, Red Oak is about 1,290 lbf and Eastern White Pine about 380 lbf.

How do I tell American Beech from Hard (Sugar) Maple?

Is American Beech a hardwood or a softwood?

American Beech is a hardwood: it comes from a broadleaf tree. Hardwood and softwood describe the kind of tree, not how hard the wood is; some hardwoods are softer than some softwoods.

What color is American Beech?

Typically a pale cream color, sometimes with a pink or brown hue; quartersawn surfaces show silvery fleck patterns.

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