Fagus sylvatica 'RIVERSII' (syn.'Purpurea Mayor') European beech
Fagus
Beeches are reliable, hardy trees typical of our climate. The genus Fagus comprises roughly ten species of deciduous trees distributed across the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, chiefly in Europe, eastern Asia and North America. Fossil finds show that beeches were important components of forests already in the Tertiary, when the climate was warmer and wetter. The genus was described botanically by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and has since become one of the cornerstones of European dendrology. For centuries beeches have been valued not only for their timber but also for their ability to form stable, long lived stands that have shaped both landscape and human culture.
The European beech has shaped the face of the Czech landscape for centuries as naturally as human settlement; native beechwoods were among the most widespread forest communities here and still survive in protected sites with an almost cathedral like atmosphere. For example: the park at Hluboká Castle, where extensive 19th century plantings and English style landscaping created monumental groups of solitary beeches. By contrast, the primeval core of Boubín Forest, protected since 1858, contains individuals estimated at 300–400 years old. The Voděradské beechwoods, designated a nature reserve in 1955 and covering roughly 650 ha, are one of the largest beech complexes in Central Bohemia and serve as an important research and educational site with rich fauna. These Czech examples mirror a wider European pattern — from managed estate parks and avenue plantings that shaped noble landscapes across Central Europe to ancient, protected beech remnants in the Carpathians, Białowieża and Hainich that preserve primeval forest dynamics and biodiversity. The beech has traditionally been a tree of shade, calm and endurance: its understorey was used for grazing, its beechnuts collected as fodder, and its timber for tools and craftwork. In folk tradition the beech is associated with wisdom and memory; old beeches were often treated as boundary markers, meeting places and living witnesses to the continuity of the landscape.
Riversii is among the most classic and reliable purple leaved beeches. The young leaves emerge maroon with mahogany tones and gradually darken into a deep, rich purple burgundy that can appear almost black from a distance in summer; this exceptional colour depth is the cultivar’s defining feature. The leaves are deciduous, larger than those of the species, typically 6–12 cm long, broadly oval to elliptical, with conspicuous and regular ribbing formed by prominent veins; they have a firm, leathery texture, a glossy surface, and finely downy margins. Autumn colour is less striking than in green leaved beeches, which turn bright amber; here the foliage shifts instead to dark bronze and brownish shades. The German dendrologist Krüssmann described it as one of the finest large leaved purple cultivars, while noting that differences between clones sold under this name are often so subtle in young trees that reliable identification is practically impossible.
The crown is regularly conical to narrowly ovoid when young, gradually broadening with age into the massive, wide arched and deeply branched structure typical of old beeches. Growth is slow to moderately fast, even and long term stable; the tree does not appear hurried, yet over the decades it reaches imposing dimensions and ranks among the largest purple leaved beeches overall. At maturity it typically reaches 25–35 m in height and forms a crown 20–30 m wide; under exceptionally favourable conditions and at great age it may attain up to 40 m in height and a similar spread where the root system is unrestricted (parks, arboreta). Branching is dense, finely textured and evenly distributed, giving the crown fullness and a compact appearance already at a relatively young age, while in old age it becomes a monumental, shady specimen with a strong architectural silhouette. Interestingly, although it is often propagated by grafting, this is not essential for maintaining colour – seedlings are usually purple leaved as well. By contrast, in ordinary green leaved beech, purple foliage appears in roughly one seedling out of a thousand.
This is a selected clone of European beech that appeared in the assortment of the Rivers nursery in England in the 1870s. The nursery itself did not originally name it, but thanks to its exceptionally rich and stable colouring the name Riversii quickly became established in horticultural practice and remains in use today. Over time a number of synonyms have appeared, ‘Purpurea Major’, ‘Atropurpurea Macrophylla’ and ‘Purpurea Latifolia’, referring mainly to its larger leaves compared with the species. The true Riversii reached North America no later than about 1907 and remains the most widely grown purple beech there today. Its long term garden value is confirmed by the RHS Award of Garden Merit, first granted in 2002 and renewed in 2012.
The European beech is very undemanding. It performs best on deep, fertile, well drained soils in full sun to partial shade and does not tolerate prolonged waterlogging. After planting, water regularly and apply mulch to protect the root ball for the first three to five years; thereafter the beech is relatively tolerant of drier periods. Newly planted trees should be staked with a sturdy three pole support for three to five years and the area around the roots kept free of weeds and dense turf. Beeches are sensitive to road salt and are therefore unsuitable for immediate planting beside frequently salted roads. The root system is typically deep and strong; it is not aggressively invasive, but where space is limited some roots may expand and lift the surface, potentially damaging paving or shallow foundations. Prune sparingly: remove dead and damaged branches during dormancy and avoid heavy summer pruning, which leaves large wounds. Hardy to approximately −34 °C.
Last update 20-02-2010; 11-10-2022; 31-01-2026
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- STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
- DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
- EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
- STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
- HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
- SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
- HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
- FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
- GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
