The Reserve's big beech has always been referred to by staff, Laudholm Trust members, and visitors as the copper beech, but the family that lived here throughout most of the 20th century preferred another name. "We always referred to it as the purple beech tree," says Nathaniel Lord.

Which is correct, purple or copper?

Horticultural and botanical sources list numerous varieties* of the European beech, Fagus sylvatica. But which variety name is the right one to use for "our" tree?

The oldest name on record is often a good starting point. The International Plant Names Index (IPNI, a product of a collaboration between The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The Harvard University Herbaria, and the Australian National Herbarium) sets the stage with a recommended standard, or scientific, name first published in 1785: Fagus sylvatica var. atro-punicea Marshall. But the IPNI doesn't concern itself with common names.

The Royal Horticultural Society does, however, and considers Fagus sylvatica 'Atropunicea' to be a synonym for the ("accepted") Fagus sylvatica Atropurpurea Group. And what do they advise we use as a common name for a tree in this group? No help: "Copper Beech; Purple Beech."

To go beyond this impasse would likely require an expert. Perhaps a dendrologist specializing in beeches could someday inspect this specimen and reveal its precise varietal identity. For now, for this stately European beech, either copper or purple will have to do.

* A tree that has distinctive but minor differences from other trees of the same species is a variety. These differences are inheritable and can be reproduced from seed. Variations in the color of the leaves or flowers or a difference in the fruit will distinguish one variety from another.