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Do you know how a beech tree is defined? "Egoistic" and "bad company"!! There plentiful and think treetops "steal" the sun (and thus the light energy) from the underbush making it difficult for the growth of shrubs and for the renewal of the other tree species. .....Not only is its treetop disturbing, but its roots absorb much water and many nutritious substances taking away from other plants with less developed roots. Inside a beechwood there is a sensation of being in a wooded area with two levels: above is a thick layer of foliage from the beech trees and from a few of the other tree-like species that accompany it; below there is a scarcely populated herbaceous layer. 
This is the reason why shrubs are so rare and why they are concentrated in more open areas and in clearings or in marginal areas. The most common shrubs are the raspberry bush and "il fior di stecco" (Daphne mezereum), while less common are the elderberry, hazel and wild cherry bushes. Near the top of the mountain there is the blueberry bush whose berries are highly sought after by animals. According to you, do you think that plants in beechwoods belong to species that like light and heat or do they prefer the shade and humid and cool terrain?  You should note that here prevail the fern, the wood anemone, the cuckoo-flower, the balsam (touch-me-not), the sweet-smelling gallium and the rare martagon lily. At the end of the winter and during the beginning of spring, when the beech tree is still bare and when more sunlight filters through, the snowdrop, the "coridali" and the Scylla bloom.
In the Casentinesi forests it's possible to find the rare Alpine "Tozzia" that isn't found anywhere else in the Apennines.
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On the bark of the beech tree there are usually white spots.