''Nothofagus solandri'', commonly known as black beech, is species of tree

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to New Zealand. Black beech occurs on both the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

at low elevations up to the mountains. It is also known as ''Nothofagus solandri'' var. ''solandri''. In New Zealand the taxon is often called ''Fuscospora solandri''. Black beech is a medium-sized

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

growing to tall. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are oppositely arranged, ovoid, 10 mm long and 5 mm broad, with smooth margins. Black beech is known as black beech because it is prone to a sooty mold which covers the trunk and branches. This, in turn, is the result of a

scale insect Scale insects are small insects of the Order (biology), order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient g ...

which sucks

sap Sap is a fluid transported in the xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a s ...

from the tree, and excretes honeydew, a sweet liquid, in small droplets (less than 1 mm diameter) on the end of stalks. This feeds the sooty mold, and also forms a valuable high-energy food source for various birds and insects including the

kākā The New Zealand kākā (''Nestor meridionalis'') is a large species of parrot of the family New Zealand parrot, Strigopidae found in New Zealand, New Zealand's native forests across the three main Islands of New Zealand. The species is often kn ...

. The infestation is common and does not appear to harm the tree. Black beech and mountain beech have both been planted in Great Britain, and mountain beech has shown better cold tolerance than black beech in locations such as

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Hybrids

* Black beech is known to hybridise freely with mountain beech (''Nothofagus cliffortioides'') where the two species co-exist. Mountain beech generally grows at higher elevations than black beech. In some places the hybrids may form complex introgressive hybrid swarms. * Black beech hybridises with hard beech ('' Nothofagus truncata'') to form the hybrid species ''Nothofagus × apiculata''. * Black beech hybridises with red beech (''

Nothofagus fusca ''Nothofagus fusca'', commonly known as red beech (Māori: tawhai raunui) is a species of southern beech, endemic to New Zealand, occurring on both the North and South Island. It is generally found on lower hills and inland valley floors where s ...

'') to form the hybrid species ''Nothofagus × dubia''.

References

External links

* *
University of Waikato: ''Nothofagus''
{{Authority control Nothofagaceae Endemic flora of New Zealand Trees of New Zealand Garden plants of New Zealand Ornamental trees