New Zealand Nothofagus beech forest no more

January 23rd, 2014 § 3 comments - add yours

Our New Zealand Nothofagus beech trees have vanished! Just before Xmas been, a major taxonomic revision of Southern Beech Trees quietly occured that sees Nothofagus vanish from our shores, to be replaced by Fuscospora and Lophozonia. Nothofagus is no more in New Zealand.

New Zealand Beech Tree leaf comparison, by Rob Suisted

New Zealand Beech Tree leaf side by side comparison, Red, Hard, Silver, Black & Mountain Beech

Red Beech was Nothofagus fusca, now: Fuscospora fusca, Hard Beech was Nothofagus truncata, now: Fuscospora truncata, Silver Beech was Nothofagus menzeseii, now: Lophozonia menziesii,  Black Beech was Nothofagus solandri var. solandri, now: Fuscospora solandri, Mountain Beech was Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides, now: Fuscospora cliffortioides.  It’s going to take a bit to get the new names rolling from the tongue.

While we’re on the subject of our beautiful Southern Beeches, I took a photo that shows just how colourful these trees get.  This was taken near the top of the 4×4 Porika Road track in Nelson Lakes National Park and shows both new growth leaf colour and beech mast flowering:

Colourful New Zealand Red and Silver Beech Tree forest

Colourful New Zealand Red and Silver Beech Tree forest

Of interest is that this year is a ‘Mast’ year for our beech forest.

Black Beech tree flowers

Black Beech tree flowers

Masting is a breeding strategy that sees a species breed only once every few years, and then all individuals breed in unison, when conditions are favourable.  Our beech forests are into it now.

The forest will soon have an abundance of food for seed eaters, but this has a major unfortunate side effect… > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >

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