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Why Do Some Leaves Persist On Beech and Oak Trees Well Into Winter?

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Photo by Blake Gardner.

Those dead, bleached-brown beech and oak leaves rattling in a January wind – but somehow still clinging to their twigs – are symbolic. Like ecological pennants, they announce that beech and oak are not quite finished; that these species are still works in progress.

To understand this, consider both the physiology and the evolutionary history of trees. All living trees shed their leaves at some time. Every leaf has a finite life span; each will fade and fall at some regular interval. But there is great variation in the timing of this leaf fall. At one end of the spectrum, there are evergreens. Though they appear to be fully leafed at all times, evergreen leaves are not always green, and entire age classes of needles die, turn brown, and fall every year. On the other end of the spectrum are deciduous trees, which seem to drop their leaves all at once after a pigment party every fall.

For a very long time, evergreen was the only way to be. Literally. Evergreens were the first trees on the planet. Populations of those earliest evergreen trees encountered changing growing conditions as they expanded their ranges and as the long march of time proceeded. As if to hedge their bets against future change, trees began to develop different ways of doing what trees do, including new ways of growing and shedding their leaves. Thus our colorfully famous, broad-leafed hardwood was born.

Today in our woods, we still have several evergreens, like pine, spruce, hemlock, and fir. And we’ve also got the relative newcomers with short-lived leaves – birch, maple, cherry, and aspen, for example. But then we have a third class of tree in beech and oak that seems to represent a middle ground of sorts between evergreen and deciduous. Their leaves die, but many don’t fall when they die. Botanists call this retention of dead plant matter marcescence.

Evergreen-ness is thought to confer an advantage to a tree by increasing the time available for its leaves to remain photosynthetic and by reducing nutrient losses associated with dropped leaves. Deciduous leaf fall, on the other hand, is considered an adaptation that evolved to allow trees in seasonally changing environments to reduce water loss and frost damage during unfavorable seasons while increasing their photosynthetic efficiency during favorable seasons. These are two strikingly different approaches. Each has its advantages and downsides, and over millennia, most species seem to have settled in to being one or the other.

The question remains then as to whether there is any ecological advantage to being somewhere in between. While physiologists agree that marcescence is a juvenile trait, most commonly observed on young trees and on lower branches, there is considerable debate about why some species would seem to be deciduous in all other respects except that they delay the physiological process of leaf shedding.

Some ecologists suggest that marcescence has adaptive significance for trees growing on dry, infertile sites. Sure enough, that’s often where we see beech and oak growing well and outcompeting other species. The thinking is that retaining leaves until spring could be a means of slowing the decomposition of the leaves (they would rot faster if on the ground) and that dropping them in spring delivers organic material (think compost or mulch) at a time when it is most needed by the growing parent tree. Even small amounts at the right time could shift the competitive advantage toward these species on poor sites.

Others suggest that retained leaves, particularly on young trees and the lower branches on bigger trees, is an effective means of trapping snow like a fence, leading to more moisture at the base of the trees come spring. Still others have hypothesized that persistent leaves might provide some frost protection for buds and new twigs over winter. And at least one study suggested that marcescent foliage could be a deterrent to browsing by deer and moose. Buds hidden by clusters of dead leaves do not get eaten and thus live to become new shoots and leaves in spring.

We do not know whether marcescence provides a competitive benefit to beech and oak, but we do know that these two species are closely related; they are in the same family (beech). In fact, the beech family includes many, get this, evergreen species (live oaks and tanoaks, for example, which do not grow in our region). Marcescence may indeed be helpful to trees living in dry, cold, deer-infested environments. But it may also be simply a sign that beech and oak are evolutionarily delayed, still on their way to becoming fully deciduous from their more evergreen past.

Discussion *

Oct 27, 2022

Great to read and learn! Thank you for the education! Most helpful!

Lois
Apr 17, 2021

Lovely article.  After a walk in the woods in southern Ontario, April 17 2021 I noticed Beech trees in several pine groves.  These Beech were isolated from other Beech and seemed to hold “territory”.  Is it possible they are like Walnut in this respect?  I think this spacing is more than coincidence.  A forest stream was nearby in the general area.  Other species included white and red pine, cedars, currents, raspberries, Mayapples, Skunkmcabbage, Canadian Anemone, Oak, Maple, Willows, and one unidentified tree possibly Hickory (a long dead single specimen in a 10 mile radius).

Maria Fleet
Dec 11, 2020

Hi from over the Atlantic! Been reading about late leaf fall on Oak trees and we have had our house built on the edge of a wood containing many oak trees in the area and fields around. We have one oak which must be 200 plus years old in our garden which is still in nearly full leaf and yet the 3 oaks in the wood next to it lost their leaves about 2 months ago. Just wondering if the main tap root to our tree is deeper and larger thus keeping the tree in leaf much longer? Thoughts on that please from the expert arborialists out there….

Ivan Powell
Feb 25, 2020

I’ve always only been interested in heavy metal and softball, never thought I’d be looking up why the leaves won’t fall from only one of my trees. I guess pushing 50 does settle you down and help you appreciate other interesting things lol. Great info from the article and the comments as well, thank you.

Jodi
Feb 26, 2019

Thank you!

From, the Friends of American Legion and Peoples State Forests, Inc. (FALPS)

FALPS
Dec 28, 2017

I have wondered for years if the reason that Oaks and Beeches hold onto their leaves is because of the leathery quality of the leaves.  Could it be also that they remain closer to being evergreens?

Viola
Oct 17, 2017

We have a sugar maple in the backyard which is split forming a v shape a couple of feet up. I have seen this many times in other trees.  I have often wondered what causes this, as opposed to having one single trunk. The tree is about three feet in diameter just under the split so I would estimate the tree to be one hundred or more years old. I’m wondering what causes this. Any ideas?

George Ross
Oct 12, 2017

We have a couple of what I believe are big-leaf maples. The leaves come on sooner in the spring and shed much later in the fall. In fact most other trees have already turned and shed before these leaves have even started to turn. My thinking is genetics developed over the years from perhaps a colder climate these trees were indigenous to originally. Any thoughts?

George Ross
Mar 23, 2017

One possible advantage my son suggests is that the leaves on these trees seem to be more completely “stripped” down to a pale, low weight version of the leaves that come down in autumn—could the trees also be taking more from them?

David Oates
Dec 09, 2016

Since oaks are monoecious, I’m wondering what Alice in NJ means by “male” and “female” oaks.

Tom M
Jun 30, 2016

Very interesting article, often wondered about it myself. I have two massive landmark white oaks on the southeastern side of my property, not a problem with them since the wind comes from the north west. My neighbor however has four large white oaks on my northwestern side of my property and I always get bombarded with their leaves in late winter and spring. Always raking leaves in the spring from around my house and yard, just seems peculiar raking leaves twice a year, now I understand more about the trees, thanks for the information.

Mike Davidson
Apr 01, 2016

Nice article. I was wondering what causes these marcescent leaves to fall—that is, do they essentially “wear out” and get blown off, or do expanding buds push them off. Today I noticed that a shingle oak (Quercus imbricaria, a marcescent species) was losing leaves over time with some falling today, but no new growth is yet visible.

Bob Jacobson
Mar 19, 2016

I noticed this whole phenomenon from a Sufi point of view, “not one leaf falls off without God’s order” and having lost my husband recently, was wondering why some dead leaves cling into their branches way passed the time of shedding. I found many insight. Some souls may cling around lower frequencies because of their attachments instead of letting go. These clinging leaves made me pray harder for his soul. Thank you for the article.

Simin Akavan
Mar 07, 2016

I was able to identify a young southern sugar maple, or Florida maple in my yard today (early March) because it still has papery bleached leaves firmly clinging on. I don’t remember maples in my yard ever doing this. Right now all the other maples are bare. My hunch is that this particular maple is growing near a beautiful beech and is jealous!

Thank you for the great article and comments.

Rebecca
Dec 09, 2015

Excellent article, thanks!
I will teach it to my kids on our next hike :-)

Tamas
Nov 17, 2015

Can you offer an explanation as to why the flowering pear retains its leaves deep into December?  I love our flowering pear tree and its’ wonderful characteristics, except for the late December leaf dropping.

Joe
Nov 14, 2015

We have two properties, one in upstate New York: Maples, Beeches, Sumac, Cherry, etc., no oaks.  one in Paterson, NJ: massive 80 year old oaks that were clearly part of the original 1939 landscape design and a lot of wild cherry and maple saplings the previous owner let grow up on the perimeter of this corner lot as a screen. 

The wind’s been blowing hard for three days: cherry, maple saplings and male oaks just about naked. Female oaks still in full dress, albeit brown dress.  Upstate house all leaves down except the beeches. These beeches are not saplings.  We read somewhere that some trees want to advertise nut and seed bounty to birds and seed hoarders in winter.  Therefore the sumac produces brilliant red cones.  It’s not a preferred food, but it is high in fat and a good winter food source for birds.

Acorns are high in tannin and squirrels bury them not only in caching frenzy but because putting them in the wet ground leaches out some of the tannin, otherwise only the top part of the nut is palatable to them when the acorns first drop—which is why you see so many partially eaten acorns. 

Squirrels have territories so even though they don’t have exact mental maps of where they stashed each of their acorns, they have a perfect idea of where they ought to be able to find some later.  But of course many are never recovered and so the mother tree’s progeny are distributed and planted by the squirrels to sprout in Spring. 

My theory based on the observation of our Paterson oaks is that the male oaks did their duty in Spring and can shut down and let go to sleep once they’ve produced enough sugar for bud break next Spring.  The females hanging onto the leaves is telling the squirrels they will find acorns down below, just as our beech trees are telling the birds where the beechnuts are and the sumac is telling the birds, you may not like the taste but in the dead of winter my red cones tell you where you can still fill your belly. 

Though they don’t have brains, plants do have seed dispersal strategies and the seed and nut eaters and hoarders play an important part. Certain trees dress themselves to advertise. I have also read that regardless of the weather, oak trees will produce bumper crops of acorns every second year. This appears to hold true for the Paterson oaks.  This year was phenomenal in number and size and quality.  Last year, not so much. 

We are required to keep our sidewalks clear in Paterson.  We don’t want the liability of passerby or the mail person slipping on leaves, acorns or snow.  So it’s not just anal idiots who are the only ones that would like the leaves to drop conveniently all at once and don’t appreciate nature in it’s unbridled state. 

We enjoy our great oaks even if we have to wait on the ladies, otherwise we’d cut these giants down like others on the street have done to theirs.  But there are far too many saplings too close together for all to flourish on this city lot so we’ve been removing them systematically for a year now.  Upstate we let the process flow as old tree dies, new ones shelter beneath.  We keep the leaves off the drive and the main yard, but let all the rest do their thing. 

When it snows on the driveway and there are leaves beneath and you have freeze and thaw cycles, it’s slippery, dangerous mess for humans—who also evolved on this planet and have a place on it just like the birds and squirrels and chipmunks who sort their own living places to their liking in their own way and whose behavior frequently seems kind of crazy to humans.

Alice Standin
May 30, 2015

Thanks for the informative article.  I’m surprised the writer didn’t mention ironwood or hop hornbeam, because it retains its leaves as well in the forest understory, much more so than oak, at least in Ontario. I tell hikers that if they see leaves persisting in the forest in winter, then the tree is either beech or ironwood.

Peter McSweeney
Jan 07, 2015

As it seemed there are more beech trees with leaves this year than I have seen, I wanted to learn why.

Wonderful article. I learned a great deal.

I appreciated that you explained that we are still learning about these trees and do not have all the answers. Too often these days, we are given junk science lectures (especially from government officials) claiming they know everything and ordering us to take actions which may do more harm than good to nature and the environment.

John
Jan 04, 2015

I find it astounding that no one has noticed how sick most of trees are in Vermont, Trees of all ages are not losing their leaves in the fall! The trunks are becoming porous and rotted, Peeling bark is exposing the core and killing the tree, There is splitting, and excessive growth of lichens, fungus and mosses (not just on the north side of trees)  I started to notice all of this in 2013 and the damage is massive. In the spring of 2014 I saw that many trees had stunted red leaves at the tops and many had become sparse also at the tops. Leaves started to die and shrivel up on the south side in the early summer. I know this is not coming from parasites or insects but something else happening in our environment. So far this winter trees are falling over everywhere on lines into road and near rivers and streams. It is almost as if their root systems have been compromised. There needs to be some explanation for this mass destruction which I am documenting meticulously! Most of the conifers are yellowing or dying!..

Liana
Dec 23, 2014

THE TREES WITH LEAVES IN WINTER REALLY MUST DRIVE THOSE LEAF BLOWER FANATICS CRAZY. OMG - A LEAF MAY BLOW OFF MID WINTER ONTO A LAWN. Another example of nature deficit disorder. Some people prefer the noise of leaf blowers over the beauty of colorful leaves-or even brown leaves on trees in winter. THEIR MINDS DON’T appreciate real beauty.

Livio Fogliato
Dec 22, 2014

These clinging leaves must be driving my neighbor across the street crazy since he is out there almost every day once leaves start to drop sucking them up with his leaf blower LOL.  This is the first winter where his leaves have remained on the tree and we were wondering why they are still there.  We thought that it was from the regular fertilizing he does EVERY 6 Weeks.  He is totally anal when it comes to his property and will go out there to hand pick leaves if he see’s them on the lawn.  Even having just one leaf on his lawn is a no-no.  This article gives me some better insight as to why this is happening now.

Glen Mills
Apr 17, 2014

Beech leaves are a very potent hazard to waxed XC skis; they lurk in groomed tracks and fasten themselves to grip wax, often resulting in falls or at least bad language…

David Wing
Apr 12, 2014

Thank you for this great posting. I have always admired the Beech trees and how they hold their dried leaves all winter. To me it represents a natural symbol of warmer days to come. Now I know some the science behind it.

Michael Franks
Jan 13, 2014

I hold that oaks and beeches, being southern trees, have not fully evolved as they progress northward, and that the abscissa ring that attaches the leaf petiole to the twig never quite finishes its autumn decay, thus keeping the leaf attached.  Notice that it is relatively easy to pull the winter leaf off these trees.  They are held in place by just a small element of the abscissa.

Harry
Dec 29, 2013

I typed in Google search “oak tree still has leaves” and yours was the first answer. Thank you for the info. I walk my dog a lot and noticed a tree with leaves on it. A big and tall oak tree. The wind was blowing and the sound it made going through the leaves was beautiful. I live in Akron, Ohio. We have had snow, freezing rain and temperatures in the single digits. This is the only tree in a 1 mile radius that still has its leaves. On the next windy day I’m going to try and record some video of the tree. Thanks again for the info.

Let nature run its course.

david nye
Oct 10, 2013

It is raining and windy here this morning, October 10th, and while looking out the window at my poplar, maple and pecan, I noticed that the pecan still looks like it’s spring with full healthy green leaves blowing beautifully in the wind, but my poplar and maples are turning colors and have dropped leaves.  Marcescence, trees that retain their leaves long after others have dropped, could be a marker left to us by God in certain trees that provide fall and winter food to people and the animal kingdom, in addition to the other reasons you have enumerated.

diana.louise.wakefield
Jun 24, 2013

Many oak trees in our area still have some dead leaves on them, even high up on the older trees.  It is almost July.  Is this a sign of distress?

Jennifer
Apr 13, 2013

Thanks for answering a question I’ve been asking every winter as I admire the pinky beige leaves giving roadside woods color when otherwise pretty dull. Does anyone know how many years one can expect to enjoy the marcescence until the tree outgrows it? I would like to plant some to replace my dozens of Sandy victims and if I get them about six feet tall, could I hope for more than two or three years before they get too grown up for the look I admire?

Kathy
Apr 05, 2013

I’ve lived here over 20 years and for a good part of that time have wondered about the young beeches keeping their leaves all winter. Today I noticed the leaves have shriveled markedly overnight, and are starting to fall. It looks like the new leaves are about to come out.

This article answered most of my questions, thanks.

I’m curious if the old leaves, though ‘dead’, could be directly supplying nutrients back to the budding branch, before falling off.

The change in the old leaves overnight was remarkable. I’ll start observing these things more closely each year to see if it happens this way every year. I’m also going to try to keep track of whether the leaf retention is due to the age of the tree or the height of the leaf, as higher branches are subject to more wind.

Dennis Farr
Mar 27, 2013

Just curious, I was hiking in the woods one day and came across an ash tree with all its leaves still on it. The only thing strange about it was that the leaves were pure white. Is there an explanation for this or is it a phenomena, I have a picture of it. Kinda of gave me the creeps everything around it was dead. It was the end of March btw so those leaves have been there for quite some time and ive never seen leaves turn white. Any answers?

Jack
Feb 12, 2013

Girdling a tree, as George described in the above post, is a technique used to eliminate poor stock and undesirable trees without the involved work of felling.  Girdling also allows smaller trees to have the support and shelter of the girdled tree while no longer having to compete with it for nutrients and sunlight.  As the girdled tree decays,  the smaller trees around it grow and take up the space once occupied by the girdled tree.

And George, I’m sorry to report that the tools for doing this work manually are indeed the axe and chainsaw.  An axe can be effective on smaller trees especially in the spring when the bark is loose; for larger trees with tougher bark, a chainsaw is the right tool for the job.

Carl Demrow, Tricks of the Trade Columnist

Carl Demrow
Feb 09, 2013

Other than an axe or chainsaw, is there a forestry tool available that makes “ringing” or cutting the bark in a circle off a tree a little easier task to terminate undesirable species for forestry management purposes?

George

George Pruitt
Jan 21, 2013

You answered my question about beech leaf retention. Since you are really into trees, wondered if you know what a “Cork” pine is—actual species or type of White pine. I have one that I bought at a nursery in New Jersey—does not look like a white pine—bark definitely looks “corky”.

mitchel goldman
Jan 16, 2013

Gail,

Beech trees have male and female flowers on the same tree, so that wouldn’t be a reason. Typically, among trees that hang onto leaves after they’ve turned brown, it’s the younger ones that do this the most. You don’t often see leaves in winter way high up in a big beech tree. My guess is that it’s the usual small genetic variability that explains this. Beech and oak are believed to have originated in more southern climes and it’s been said that these species “have not yet perfected the deciduous habit.”

Ginny Barlow
Jan 14, 2013

There are many beech trees behind our house.  Some drop their leaves in the fall & some hold on to some leaves until spring.  They seem to be the same type.  Wondering if some are male & some female.  If so, what is the purpose & which kind holds on to the leaves?

Gail brown
Nov 01, 2012

We have 8 large, old oak trees…and have often wondered why their leaves just seem to hang around and hang around….except for the multi-billions on the ground that we rake into huge piles. I can use SOME as mulch, but most get sucked up by big city machine that then takes them to the landfill to be turned into topsoil. Your article and the various theories are quite interesting. A few oaks are native to the tallgrass prairies here…perhaps after a long cold winter the remaining leaves added nutrients to give the prairie grasses a boost?
A related topic: acorns. Many more than usual this fall. A Master Gardener suggested the trees felt stressed by the drought and produced more “babies” to ensure long-term survival. Any thoughts?

Marti Garrison
Oct 14, 2012

Is there a chemical that will remove marescent leaves from a tree?  some witch hazels retain their leaves and hide the flowers

Fred Averill
Oct 03, 2012

Frank,

We here at Northern Woodlands are unfamiliar with any particular method for stripping dead leaves from oaks, as none of us have ever tried to do that.

Meghan Oliver
Sep 28, 2012

IS there a way to strip the dead leaves from oaks?

Frank
Jan 23, 2012

Nice article.  One speculation:  Could those clinging brown leaves create a little extra shade, thereby discouraging competing evergreens under the canopy of the young oaks and beeches?  That would be particularly important in soils that don’t allow for as rapid growth of the oak/beech.

Chris Fanger
Jun 15, 2011

I have a tree in my garden which I have always taken to be a white oak. Being from Windhoek in Namibia this is a highly unusual tree for our environment, indeed I am not actually aware of any other in Windhoek at all. Over the last few years it has been very noticeable that, although all the leaves turn brown in autumn (May/June here being in the southern hemisphere fewer and fewer are actually shed. With new growth in spring the old brown leaves stay on the tree and appear to interfere with new growth. Apart from being unaesthetic these areas of dead leaves harbor pests such as aphids and scale insects which afflict the tree during summer. Each year this has become worse. The winters here are generally mild with few nights of frost whilst the peak summer temperatures are up to 40 centigrade. Rainfall is also primarily late summer with little or no precipitation in the winter, certainly no snow. Last year I manually removed the dead leaves in late winter, which took some effort, but which the tree seemed to appreciate based on the strength of the new growth. I’d be interested to know whether the failure to shed the old leaves when the new leaves grow is a problem or just part of a natural process? Might it perhaps be caused by our climate? I have inquired from local nurseries but have not received any helpful comment due, I think, to the general rarity of the tree here.

Peter Forster
Feb 11, 2011

As a somewhat avid walker/hiker, I have always wondered why the leaves did cling to some trees longer.  On a recent hike with a state forest ranger and a naturalist, they pointed out the mighty oak, and the beech trees and brought this to the groups attention.  No one had a clear answer.  So your article had made some sense to this mystery. I will be using your ideals as my new found knowledge on future hikes.
I enjoy reading your articles, and enjoy all the facts and especially the pictures and “What in the woods is that.”  By far, my best reading.  Thank you from a fellow woodsman down in Tennessee.

Bill Davis
Jan 10, 2011

Great article! I have a theory that Oak trees retain their leaves to protect the acorns as they develop. I have not documented it, but I have noticed in years when ther red oaks retain their leaves well in to January and February, they have a good crop the following year. I have not noticed this in white Oaks. I am not sure if this theory also pertains to the Beech trees, but I will be watching next year, because this year they seem very persistent in their leaf retention.

Tom Farrell

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