The Kaiser Mountains ( German : Kaisergebirge , meaning Emperor Mountains ) are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps and Eastern Alps . Its main ridges – are the Zahmer Kaiser and south of it the Wilder Kaiser . The mountains are situated in the Austrian province of Tyrol between the town of Kufstein and the town of St. Johann in Tirol . The Kaiser Mountains offer some of the loveliest scenery in all the Northern Limestone Alps.
55-654: The Scheffauer is a 2,111 m-high mountain in the Kaiser mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps . It forms the western buttress of the Wilder Kaiser and is one of the most frequented summits in the Kaiser. The Scheffauer belongs to the lesser summits of the Wilder Kaiser and guards the western flank of the main crest of the mountain range. To the north and south mighty rock faces, up to 600 metres high, plunge into
110-583: A bitter taste (though not nearly as bitter as acorns ) and a high tannin content. The most recent classification system of the genus recognizes 14 species in two distinct subgenera, subgenus Englerianae and Fagus . Beech species can be diagnosed by phenotypical and/or genotypical traits. Species of subgenus Engleriana are found only in East Asia, and are notably distinct from species of subgenus Fagus in that these beeches are low-branching trees, often made up of several major trunks with yellowish bark and
165-643: A bitter, astringent, or in some cases, mild and nut-like taste. According to the Roman statesman Pliny the Elder in his work Natural History , beechnut was eaten by the people of Chios when the town was besieged, writing of the fruit: "that of the beech is the sweetest of all; so much so, that, according to Cornelius Alexander, the people of the city of Chios, when besieged, supported themselves wholly on mast". They can also be roasted and pulverized into an adequate coffee substitute . The leaves can be steeped in liquor to give
220-429: A decorative wood. The timber can be used to build chalets, houses, and log cabins. Beech wood is used for the stocks of military rifles when traditionally preferred woods such as walnut are scarce or unavailable or as a lower-cost alternative. The edible fruit of the beech tree, known as beechnuts or mast, is found in small burrs that drop from the tree in autumn. They are small, roughly triangular, and edible, with
275-399: A letter of the alphabet) is буква ( bukva ), while Serbo-Croatian and Slovene use " bukva " to refer to the tree. The pigment bistre was made from beech wood soot . Beech litter raking as a replacement for straw in animal husbandry was an old non-timber practice in forest management that once occurred in parts of Switzerland in the 17th century. Beech has been listed as one of
330-454: A light green/yellow liqueur. In antiquity, the bark of the beech tree was used by Indo-European people for writing-related purposes, especially in a religious context. Beech wood tablets were a common writing material in Germanic societies before the development of paper . The Old English bōc has the primary sense of "beech" but also a secondary sense of "book", and it is from bōc that
385-484: A long history of cultivation, Bulgaria for example, do not exhibit this pattern, so how much human activity has influenced the spread of beech trees is as yet unclear. The primeval beech forests of the Carpathians are also an example of a singular, complete, and comprehensive forest dominated by a single tree species - the beech tree. Forest dynamics here were allowed to proceed without interruption or interference since
440-671: A naturally growing forest tree, beech marks the important border between the European deciduous forest zone and the northern pine forest zone. This border is important for wildlife and fauna. In Denmark and Scania at the southernmost peak of the Scandinavian peninsula, southwest of the natural spruce boundary, it is the most common forest tree. It grows naturally in Denmark and southern Norway and Sweden up to about 57–59°N. The most northern known naturally growing (not planted) beech trees are found in
495-517: A product of ice age processes the Kaiser is also home to a number of rare, partly endemic invertebrates, such as Allobobophora smaragdina (a yellow-green earthworm ), a door snail , and a number of spiders and butterflies . Typical vertebrates are the alpine and fire salamanders , smooth snake , viper (unusual color variants), edible dormouse , hazel dormouse and bank vole . In higher regions there are chamois , stoat , snow vole and mountain hare . Typical birds are wood warbler ,
550-754: A separate family, the Nothofagaceae (which remains a member of the order Fagales ). They are found throughout the Southern Hemisphere in Australia , New Zealand , New Guinea , New Caledonia , as well as Argentina and Chile (principally Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego ). Species treated in Denk et al. (2024) and listed in Plants of the World Online (POWO) : Erroneously synonymized by some authors (e.g. POWO) with
605-550: A small grove north of Bergen on the west coast of Norway. Near the city of Larvik is the largest naturally occurring beech forest in Norway, Bøkeskogen . Some research suggests that early agriculture patterns supported the spread of beech in continental Europe. Research has linked the establishment of beech stands in Scandinavia and Germany with cultivation and fire disturbance, i.e. early agricultural practices. Other areas which have
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#1732885117813660-578: A substantially different nucleome (nuclear DNA) , especially in noncoding, highly variable gene regions such as the spacers of the nuclear-encoded ribosomal RNA genes (ribosomal DNA) . Further differentiating characteristics include the whitish bloom on the underside of the leaves, the visible tertiary leaf veins, and a long, smooth cupule-peduncle. Originally proposed but not formalized by botanist Chung-Fu Shen in 1992, this group comprised two Japanese species, F. japonica and F. okamotoi, and one Chinese species, F. engleriana . While
715-440: A tone between those of maple and birch , the two most popular drum woods. The textile modal is a kind of rayon often made wholly from reconstituted cellulose of pulped beech wood. The European species Fagus sylvatica yields a tough, utility timber. It weighs about 720 kg per cubic metre and is widely used for furniture construction, flooring, and engineering purposes, in plywood and household items, but rarely as
770-678: A total area of some 280 square kilometres (110 sq mi). The Zahmer Kaiser only just breaks through the 2,000 metre barrier (in the Vordere Kesselschneid ). The highest elevation in the Wilder Kaiser is the Ellmauer Halt in the borough of Kufstein at 2,344 metres (7,690 ft). There are around forty other summits, including many well-known climbing peaks such as the Karlspitzen , Totenkirchl , Fleischbank , Predigtstuhl , Goinger Halt , Ackerlspitze and Maukspitze . As early as
825-700: Is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae , native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America . There are 14 accepted species in two distinct subgenera, Englerianae Denk & G.W.Grimm and Fagus . The subgenus Englerianae is found only in East Asia, distinctive for its low branches, often made up of several major trunks with yellowish bark. The better known species of subgenus Fagus are native to Europe , western and eastern Asia and eastern North America. They are high-branching trees with tall, stout trunks and smooth silver-grey bark. The European beech Fagus sylvatica
880-439: Is also used to smoke Westphalian ham , andouille sausage, and some cheeses. Beeches are monoecious , bearing both male and female flowers on the same plant. The small flowers are unisexual, the female flowers borne in pairs, the male flowers wind-pollinating catkins . They are produced in spring shortly after the new leaves appear. The fruit of the beech tree, known as beechnuts or mast, is found in small burrs that drop from
935-428: Is not planted much as an ornamental due to slower growth and less resistance to urban pollution. It most commonly occurs as an overstory component in the northern part of its range with sugar maple, transitioning to other forest types further south such as beech-magnolia. American beech is rarely encountered in developed areas except as a remnant of a forest that was cut down for land development. The dead brown leaves of
990-474: Is part of the Northern Limestone Alps and consists mainly of Wetterstein limestone and dolomite . The Wetterstein limestone has a maximum thickness of about 1000 m, which corresponds to the maximum height of the rock faces ( Felsabbrüche ) of the Kaiser. The younger dolomites are mainly found in the valley hollows. Extensive moraine fields are a remnant of the Würm glaciation . The Kaiser Mountains are drained in
1045-452: Is round and crowned." (original: "Es ist in der Herrschaft Khueffstein der Kayser, ein sehr hoches Gepürg, so einer kaiserlichen Cron gleich ist, seiner vilfeltigen Zinggen halber, dann auch, dass er in der Heche vil Meils Wegs weit, als ob er rund und gekrönt ware, gesehen wird." ) The touristic development of the Kaiser began in the second half of the 19th century. Most of the documented first ascents of its summits date from that time until
1100-476: Is smooth and light gray. The fruit is a small, sharply three-angled nut 10–15 mm ( 3 ⁄ 8 – 5 ⁄ 8 in) long, borne singly or in pairs in soft-spined husks 1.5–2.5 cm ( 5 ⁄ 8 –1 in) long, known as cupules. The husk can have a variety of spine- to scale-like appendages, the character of which is, in addition to leaf shape, one of the primary ways beeches are differentiated. The nuts are called beechnuts or beech mast and have
1155-426: Is the most commonly cultivated species, yielding a utility timber used for furniture construction, flooring and engineering purposes, in plywood, and household items. The timber can be used to build homes. Beechwood makes excellent firewood . Slats of washed beech wood are spread around the bottom of fermentation tanks for Budweiser beer. Beech logs are burned to dry the malt used in some German smoked beers . Beech
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#17328851178131210-700: The Wilder Kaiser or Wild Kaiser chain of mountains, formed predominantly of bare limestone rock, and the Zahmer Kaiser ("Tame Kaiser"), whose southern side is mainly covered by mountain pine . These two mountain ridges are linked by the 1,580-metre-high Stripsenjoch pass, but are separated in the west by the valley of Kaisertal and in the east by the Kaiserbach valley . In total the Kaiser extends for about 20 km (12 mi) in an east-west direction and about 14 km (8.7 mi) from north to south, giving
1265-646: The cryptic sister species F. hayatae and F. pashanica ) , two pseudo-cryptic species in eastern North America ( F. grandifolia , F. mexicana ), and a species complex of at least four species ( F. caspica , F. hohenackeriana , F. orientalis , F. sylvatica ) in Western Eurasia . Their genetics are highly complex and include both species-unique alleles as well as alleles and ribosomal DNA spacers that are shared between two or more species. The western Eurasian species are characterized by morphological and genetical gradients. Research suggests that
1320-432: The red-breasted flycatcher (for North Tyrol endemic ), alpine chough , raven , crag martin , alpine willow tit , lesser redpoll ( Carduelis linaria rufescens ), alpine accentor , alpine wallcreeper and black grouse - capercaillie and rock ptarmigan . Raptors occurring in the Kaiser are the northern goshawk , Eurasian sparrowhawk , golden eagle , tawny owl , pygmy owl and Tengmalm's owl . The Kaiser
1375-470: The submontane area there are also ash and sycamore maple , and, in sunny areas, alder . Hay meadows, poor grassland and pastures are typical of the alpine meadows . In the subalpine region we find the typical dwarf shrub types such as mountain pine and alpenrose , and the rare dwarf alpenrose . Alpine polsterrasen ("cushion grasslands") are found all the way up to the summit areas. There are various wetlands also stocked with typical plants. As
1430-460: The 1920s individual nature lovers, including the "Emperor Pope", Franz Nieberl, called for greater protection of the unique natural region of the Kaiser. The primary aim of this protection was to prevent over development of the Kaiser Mountains by cable cars and roads. In those days such ideas were unsuccessful. In 1961, following a referendum, it was decided to establish a nature reserve , which
1485-733: The 1970s and 1980s a whole range of sometimes extremely difficult sport climbing routes were opened in the Kaiser mountains. The most difficult currently is "The Emperor's New Clothes" route ( Des Kaisers neue Kleider , grade X+) by Stefan Glowacz on the Fleischbank pinnacle. The Kaiser borders on the following other mountain groups in the Alps: Kufstein , Ebbs , Durchholzen , Kiefersfelden , Walchsee , Kössen , Schwendt , Kirchdorf in Tirol , St. Johann in Tirol , Going , Ellmau , Scheffau , Söll Beech See text Beech ( Fagus )
1540-626: The American beech remain on the branches until well into the following spring, when the new buds finally push them off. East Asia is home to eight species of Fagus , only one of which ( F. crenata ) is occasionally planted in Western countries. Smaller than F. sylvatica and F. grandifolia , this beech is one of the most common hardwoods in its native range. Beech grows on a wide range of soil types, acidic or basic, provided they are not waterlogged. The tree canopy casts dense shade and thickens
1595-765: The Anna Tunnel (813 m long) into the Kaisertal, was opened on 31 May 2008. It was built by the parish of Ebbs as a private road for use only by a very narrow group of beneficiaries: residents, farmers, authorities and organisations with safety functions. The flora and fauna of the nature reserve is very rich. In the Kaiser Mountains there are about 940 different flowering plants, 38 different species of fern and over 400 different mosses . The colonies of fungi and lichen are very rich, with 100 and 236 different species respectively being represented. The forest region comprises mainly mixed forest with beech , fir and spruce . In
1650-698: The Crimean F. × taurica, from which it differs morphologically and genetically. Numerous species have been named globally from the fossil record spanning from the Cretaceous to the Pleistocene . Fossil species formerly placed in Fagus include: The name of the tree in Latin, fagus (from whence the generic epithet ), is cognate with English "beech" and of Indo-European origin, and played an important role in early debates on
1705-535: The Kaiser Mountains goes back 4000 to 5000 years. These are discoveries of the remains of Stone Age hunters in the Tischofer Cave . Other discoveries have revealed the presence of Bronze Age settlers in the cave. Documentary evidence of human settlement in the Kaisertal in the Middle Ages date back at least to 1430. There is a purchase agreement from that year for a farm called Hinterkaiser . The name "Kaiser" for
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1760-508: The Kaiser are Paul Preuss , Matthias Rebitsch, Hermann Buhl , and Alexander Huber . The sometimes highly technology-centric climbing styles and techniques developed mainly before the First World War influenced climbing in the Kaiser until the 1960s. In 1977, grade VII climbing was introduced with the free ascent of the Pumprisse by Reinhard Karl and Helmut Kiene on the Fleischbank. In
1815-483: The area is older and already appears by 1240 in a Kitzbühel directory of goods which speaks of a Gamsgiayt an dem Chaiser . In 1611 there is an annotation to a picture in the maps of Matthias Burgklehner that states "There is in the dominion of Kufstein the Kayser, a very high mountain range, which is just like an imperial crown, on account of its many peaks, and also because it appears from an altitude and miles away as if it
1870-517: The bottom of fermentation tanks for Budweiser beer. This provides a complex surface on which the yeast can settle, so that it does not pile up, preventing yeast autolysis which would contribute off-flavours to the beer. Beech logs are burned to dry the malt used in German smoked beers . Beech is also used to smoke Westphalian ham , traditional andouille (an offal sausage) from Normandy, and some cheeses. Some drums are made from beech, which has
1925-565: The disease has become widespread in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and in portions of coastal New Hampshire and coastal and central Maine. The beech most commonly grown as an ornamental tree is the European beech ( Fagus sylvatica ), widely cultivated in North America as well as its native Europe. Many varieties are in cultivation, notably the weeping beech F. sylvatica 'Pendula', several varieties of copper or purple beech,
1980-709: The east of the Ellmauer Tor (watershed) by the Goinger Hausbach and Rettenbach, both of which flow into the Reither Ache, another tributary of the Großache. Between Fleischbank and the Goinger Halt is a small cirque glacier that will probably disappear soon as average temperatures rise. In the far west of the mountain range is Lake Hinterstein which is used as a bathing lake. The first dated evidence of human settlement in
2035-782: The eastern United States and southeastern Canada, with a disjunct sister species in Mexico ( F. mexicana ). There are the only extant (surviving) Fagus species in the Western Hemisphere. Before the Pleistocene Ice Age, it is believed to have spanned the entire width of the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific but now is confined to the east of the Great Plains. F. grandifolia tolerates hotter climates than European species but
2090-642: The exception of the Western Eurasian and North American species. Fagus is the first diverging lineage in the evolution of the Fagaceae family, which also includes oaks and chestnuts . The oldest fossils that can be assigned to the beech lineage are 81–82 million years old pollen from the Late Cretaceous of Wyoming , United States. The southern beeches (genus Nothofagus ) historically thought closely related to beeches, are treated as members of
2145-708: The fern-leaved beech F. sylvatica 'Asplenifolia', and the tricolour beech F. sylvatica 'Roseomarginata'. The columnar Dawyck beech ( F. sylvatica 'Dawyck') occurs in green, gold, and purple forms, named after Dawyck Botanic Garden in the Scottish Borders, one of the four garden sites of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh . Beech wood is an excellent firewood , easily split and burning for many hours with bright but calm flames. Slats of beech wood are washed in caustic soda to leach out any flavour or aroma characteristics and are spread around
2200-740: The first representatives of the modern-day genus were already present in the Paleocene of Arctic North America (western Greenland ) and quickly radiated across the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere , with a first diversity peak in the Miocene of northeastern Asia . The contemporary species are the product of past, repeated reticulate evolutionary processes ( outbreeding , introgression , hybridization ). As far as studied, heterozygosity and intragenomic variation are common in beech species, and their chloroplast genomes are nonspecific with
2255-484: The geographical origins of the Indo-European people , the beech argument . Greek φηγός (figós) is from the same root, but the word was transferred to the oak tree (e.g. Iliad 16.767) as a result of the absence of beech trees in southern Greece . Fagus sylvatica was a late entrant to Great Britain after the last glaciation, and may have been restricted to basic soils in the south of England. Some suggest that it
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2310-479: The ground with leaf litter . In North America, they can form beech-maple climax forests by partnering with the sugar maple . The beech blight aphid ( Grylloprociphilus imbricator ) is a common pest of American beech trees. Beeches are also used as food plants by some species of Lepidoptera . Beech bark is extremely thin and scars easily. Since the beech tree has such delicate bark, carvings, such as lovers' initials and other forms of graffiti, remain because
2365-557: The last ice age. Nowadays, they are amongst the last pure beech forests in Europe to document the undisturbed postglacial repopulation of the species, which also includes the unbroken existence of typical animals and plants. These virgin beech forests and similar forests across 12 countries in continental Europe were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007. The American beech ( Fagus grandifolia ) occurs across much of
2420-429: The modern word derives. In modern German, the word for "book" is Buch, with Buche meaning "beech tree". In modern Dutch, the word for "book" is boek, with beuk meaning "beech tree". In Swedish, these words are the same, bok meaning both "beech tree" and "book". There is a similar relationship in some Slavic languages. In Russian and Bulgarian , the word for beech is бук ( buk ), while that for "letter" (as in
2475-790: The status of F. okamotoi remains uncertain, the most recent systematic treatment based on morphological and genetic data confirmed a third species, F. multinervis, endemic to Ulleungdo , a South Korean island in the Sea of Japan . The beeches of Ulleungdo have been traditionally treated as a subspecies of F. engleriana, to which they are phenotypically identical, or as a variety of F. japonica. The differ from their siblings by their unique nuclear and plastid genotypes. The better known subgenus Fagus beeches are high-branching with tall, stout trunks and smooth silver-gray bark. This group includes five extant species in continental and insular East Asia ( F. crenata , F. longipetiolata , F. lucida , and
2530-562: The summit of the Ellmauer Halt. The only man-made lift in the protected area is the chair lift to the Brentenjoch saddle. Other lift projects were not realized because of the nature reserve. For a long time, the construction of a road into the Kaisertal valley was hotly contested as it was the only inhabited valley in Austria without road access. The Kaisertal road, which now runs from Ebbs through
2585-453: The tree in autumn. They are small, roughly triangular, and edible, with a bitter, astringent, or mild and nut-like taste. The European beech ( Fagus sylvatica ) is the most commonly cultivated, although few important differences are seen between species aside from detail elements such as leaf shape. The leaves of beech trees are entire or sparsely toothed, from 5–15 centimetres (2–6 inches) long and 4–10 cm (2–4 in) broad. The bark
2640-612: The tree is unable to heal itself. Beech bark disease is a fungal infection that attacks the American beech through damage caused by scale insects. Infection can lead to the death of the tree. Beech leaf disease is a disease that affects American beeches spread by the newly discovered nematode, Litylenchus crenatae mccannii . This disease was first discovered in Lake County, Ohio, in 2012 and has now spread to over 41 counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, Canada. As of 2024,
2695-527: The turn of the century. It is likely, however, that most of the peaks had already been climbed from time to time by local herders and poachers, without any records having been kept. The time from the late 19th century to the First World War was a period when the limestone faces of the Wilder Kaiser were the cradle of Munich's climbing scene, when well-known climbing pioneers like Hans Dülfer developed entirely new climbing techniques and styles. Other well-known climbers from various periods who opened new routes on
2750-614: The valleys. At the southern foot of the Scheffauer lies Lake Hinterstein ; to the west it is linked to the rarely visited Zettenkaiser , whilst to the east it is connected to the ridge of the Hackenköpfe . A worthwhile but difficult hike runs along this ridge to the Sonneck . There are two frequently used routes to scale the Scheffauer; both are signposted and sufficiently secured. Kaiser Mountains The Kaiser Mountains are divided into
2805-822: The west by the Sparchenbach , which flows through the Kaisertal and later empties into the Inn ; in the east by the Kaiserbach, which flows through the Kaiserbachtal and discharges into the Großache which in turn flows into the Chiemsee lake; in the north by the Weissenbach and in the south, in the area west of the so-called Ellmauer Tor , by the Weißache - which also drains into the Inn; and to
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#17328851178132860-565: The world (according to Guinness World Records ) is the Meikleour Beech Hedge in Meikleour , Perth and Kinross , Scotland. Fagus sylvatica is one of the most common hardwood trees in north-central Europe, in France constituting alone about 15% of all nonconifers. The Balkans are also home to the lesser-known oriental beech ( F. orientalis ) and Crimean beech ( F. taurica ). As
2915-513: Was designated for its beech woodlands, which are believed to be on the western edge of their natural range in this steep limestone gorge. Beech is not native to Ireland; however, it was widely planted in the 18th century and can become a problem shading out the native woodland understory. Beech is widely planted for hedging and in deciduous woodlands, and mature, regenerating stands occur throughout mainland Britain at elevations below about 650 m (2,100 ft). The tallest and longest hedge in
2970-454: Was introduced by Neolithic tribes who planted the trees for their edible nuts. The beech is classified as a native in the south of England and as a non-native in the north where it is often removed from 'native' woods. Large areas of the Chilterns are covered with beech woods, which are habitat to the common bluebell and other flora. The Cwm Clydach National Nature Reserve in southeast Wales
3025-461: Was officially opened on 19 April 1963. The reserve, which covered all the peaks of the Wilder and Zahmer Kaiser, has an area of 102 square kilometres (39 sq mi) and lies within the territories of the municipalities of Kufstein, St. Johann in Tirol, Ebbs , Ellmau , Going , Kirchdorf in Tirol , Scheffau and Walchsee . The height of the nature reserve's terrain ranges from 480 m up to 2344 m at
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