Fagus is a genus of deciduous trees collectively known as Beeches in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Beech wood is an excellent firewood, easily split and burning for many hours with bright but calm flames. Slats of beech wood are washed in caustic soda to leach out any flavour or aroma characteristics and are spread around the bottom of fermentation tanks for Budweiser beer. Beech logs are burned to dry the malt used in German smoked beers. Beech is also used to smoke Westphalian ham, traditional andouille (an offal sausage) and some cheeses. Some drums are made from beech, which has a tone between those of maple and birch, the two most popular drum woods.

Fagus sylvatica, commonly known as European Beech, is a large, graceful, deciduous tree native to Europe from southern Sweden to northern Sicily, west to France, southern England, northern Portugal, central Spain, and east to northwest Turkey. The leaves of beech are often not abscissed (dropped) in the autumn and instead remain on the tree until the spring. It is often found in parks, gardens and golf courses for its ornamental value and use as a shade tree. Yellowish-green and reddish-brown flowers are borne in late spring to early summer followed by triangular, nuts that ripen in autumn and are edible when cooked. It grows best in full sun but will withstand part shade and tolerates pruning so well that it can be used to form a very narrow yet tall hedge or windbreak and makes it a suitable subject for the art of bonsai. Mature trees are Hardy to USDA Zone 4, meaning it can survive temperatures as low as negative 38°C. Fagus sylvatica or Beech bud helps to decrease the rate of uric acid, cholesterol and urea at the renal level. Due to its properties, it is a powerful stimulant of immunity.