I'm more or less stumped.

Was there a late frost in your area?

It looks like possible herbicide damage, but barring malicious acts, I think that happens very rarely. There are a couple emergent diseases affecting beeches, but I don't know how they present.

Hi David - thanks - I'm in New Hope, Pa. There were no late frosts but a good amount of rain in May. I don't believe there has been any spraying. There are a fair amount of mature Beech seedlings in the area - I will check them all when I can. Coincidentally, a neighbor removed 3 huge, and I mean huge 50-60 foot Beech last year. I was very happy - the amount of Beech Nuts dropped in the fall was substantial. If I could only get my other neighbor to remove their driveway allee of about 30 Pin Oaks. Besides the leaves they drop - you don't want to be around during a 'mast year'.

Thank you sah67 - Well, I hope it is not Beech Leaf Disease. I looked quickly at your provided link and it certainly looks like it. There looks to be a lot of literature regarding this disease but the outlook seems grim. NYS DEC says 'Currently, there is no known way to control or manage this disease.'

Sadly, it does look like beech leaf disease. It moved into my area 4-5 years ago. We and neighbors had to remove 100s of mature beeches as they slowly succumbed.

Thanks all - I was not aware of Beech Leaf Disease prior to this discussion. It appears to be very serious and not completely diagnosed. Here is an excerpt from an article dated Aug. 6, 2023:

“It could have a huge ecological impact,” said Mihail Kantor, an assistant research professor of nematology at Pennsylvania State University.

Kantor is among a small group of researchers who are studying the disease. Every three months, a few dozen plant pathologists, professional arborists and other experts jump on a conference call to discuss their work and trade ideas.

Despite concerns that the arboreal ailment could wipe out one of America’s most iconic trees, the scientists have struggled to get funding from government agencies and other sources to launch more of the kind of intensive studies they say are sorely needed.

“One of the main things we say on the calls is, ‘Oh, gee! You can’t find any funding,’” said Margery Daughtrey, a plant pathologist and senior extension associate at Cornell University’s School of Integrative Plant Science. “It’s a real problem.”

She noted that the spotted lantern fly, on the other hand, has drawn outsize attention and research money. “Nothing against the spotted lantern fly,” Daughtrey said, “but it doesn’t actually bother people, and it doesn't bother many plants.

“This is threatening to eliminate an important Northeastern tree species,” she said.

The worrisome part - ‘Oh, gee! You can’t find any funding,’ – I wonder if that is so today?

Yep, it's scary to think we could dealing with another chestnut blight situation. Beech trees were my favorite big trees when I got into plants as a kid. Thanks for posting that.