Paper presents an analysis of phenotypical variation and an evaluation of silvicultural quality of progeny from 27 beech stands around Poland that grow on the provenance plot in the Brzeziny Forest District (51.791997°N, 19.813841°E). The trial commenced in spring 1996, on the basis of 2−year−old saplings with covered root systems. A randomised block method with 3 replications was applied, with subsequent measurements and analyses carried out in 2015, following 20 years of growth. The considered features included height, breast−height diameter, crown habit, trunk curvature and height of branching. Single−factor analysis of variance and Tukey’s HSD test were applied to determine the significance of differences among provenances. The largest mean height was attained by beeches originating from Gdańsk, Szczecinek and Bierzwnik. The least−tall beeches were in turn those whose origins were in Tomaszów, Łagów and Grodzisk. The greatest intra−population variation in height characterised the beeches from Gryfino and Krucz, while the most limited variation was noted for Gdańsk population. The beeches of greatest girth were again those deriving from Gdańsk, Bierzwnik and Szczecinek populations, as well as the one from Kwidzyn 15. The lowest values for diameter at breast height were again noted for the Grodzisk, Tomaszów and Łagów provenances. Marked intra−population variation in this feature characterised trees from the Gryfino, Bieszczady National Park (42), Zdrojów and Krucz provenances. The populations also differered in relation to analysed more−qualitative features. The group of populations prized most in terms of their overall silvicultural quality included Gryfino, Grodzisk, Zdrojów, Bieszczady National Park, Bierzwnik and Szczecinek provenances. In contrast, only low quality was manifested by beeches from Tomaszów, Rymanów, Wejherowo, Młynary, Golub−Dobrzyń and Kwidzyn provenances. In general, populations originating from the north (especially Pomerania) achieved better growth and a more favourable quality evaluation than those from the south, and sites located near the range limits of the species (fig. 7). The obtained results show that northern Poland boasts the most plastic populations of beech. Equally, it was not possible to establish that populations of local origin were superior in terms of growth to those originating in more far−flung parts of Poland. Furthermore, assessments of different populations in terms of their growth and quality features often proved highly disparate.
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