Pronunciation: (bēch), [key]
1. any tree of the genus Fagus, of temperate regions, having a smooth gray bark and bearing small, edible, triangular nuts.
2. Also called beechwood. the wood of such a tree.
3. any member of the plant family Fagaceae, characterized by trees and shrubs having alternate, usually toothed or lobed leaves, male flowers in catkins and female flowers either solitary or in clusters and bearing a nut enclosed in a cupule or bur, including the beeches, chestnuts, and oaks.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.