As you traverse through the Medford Campus from the New Freedom Road entrance on your way to the Community Building, you go through a lovely wooded area composed primarily of Fagus grandiflora, American beech. The smooth, silvery bark adds to the beauty of this native tree, but the leaves also make a statement, especially in the winter. The leaves give a ghostly shimmer as the leaves cling tightly to their branches. This trait of retaining leaves, after they are dead and dry, through the winter is known as marcescence. The evolutionary reasons for marcescence are not clear, though one theory is that the leaves provide a delayed source of nutrients or moisture-conserving mulch when the leaves finally fall and decompose in the spring. A great way to experience the beeches is by following the paved walkway along Medford Leas Way, or taking the well maintained Red Trail through the woods.
