European beech ranges across southern Scandinavia down to central Spain, Corsica, Sicily and Greece and eastwards to western Russia and Crimea. It is probably native to southern England and Wales although some authorities, including Julius Caesar, believe it is not native to Britain at all. On favourable UK sites, even on chalk 5beech grows rapidly. Trees over 40 metres tall have been recorded in England and Ireland. The best measured girth exceeds 8.9m.
Beech timber is ideal for furniture.
Steam treated strips of it become pliable enough to be bent double for chair backs. It does not smell or taste so is suitable for children's toys or in direct contact with food. Many of the famous Chiltern beechwoods were planted to provide material for the furniture industry centred on High Wycombe. Healthy timber is pinkish-brown with small darker flecks. Over mature wood infected by fungi is also prized.