Nothofagus solandri var. solandri (New Zealand Black Beech) and var. cliffortioides(New Zealand Mountain Beech) is a species of
NothofagusNothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of about 35 species of trees and shrubs native to the temperate oceanic to tropical Southern Hemisphere in southern South America and Australasia...
,
endemicEndemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, habitat type, nation, or other defined zone. To be endemic to a place or area means that it is found only in that part of the world and nowhere else. For example, many species of lemur...
to
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
, where it occurs on both
North IslandThe North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
and
South IslandThe South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
. Var. solandri occurs to low altitudes to the mountains, while var. cliffortioides grows to the treeline.
Black Beech (var. solandri) is a medium-sized
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
growing to 27 m tall. Mountain Beech (var.
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Nothofagus solandri var. solandri (New Zealand Black Beech) and var. cliffortioides(New Zealand Mountain Beech) is a species of
NothofagusNothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of about 35 species of trees and shrubs native to the temperate oceanic to tropical Southern Hemisphere in southern South America and Australasia...
,
endemicEndemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, habitat type, nation, or other defined zone. To be endemic to a place or area means that it is found only in that part of the world and nowhere else. For example, many species of lemur...
to
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
, where it occurs on both
North IslandThe North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
and
South IslandThe South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
. Var. solandri occurs to low altitudes to the mountains, while var. cliffortioides grows to the treeline.
Black Beech (var. solandri) is a medium-sized
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
growing to 27 m tall. Mountain Beech (var. cliffortioides) is smaller (20 m)and near the treeline forms a "goblin forest" where the trees are no more than 2 m tall.
The
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
are alternately arranged, ovoid, 10 mm long and 5 mm broad, with smooth margins. In var. cliffortioides the leaves are more elongated and have a pointed end, while var. solandri has shorter rounder leaves. There is however considerable variation in leaf shape within the varieties, and hybridisation occurs between the varieties.
Var. solandri 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 insectThe scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, generally classified as the superfamily Coccoidea. There are about 8,000 species of scale insects....
which sucks sap from the tree, and excretes
honeydewHoneydew is a sugar-rich sticky substance, secreted by aphids and some scale insects as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the gut's terminal opening. Honeydew is particularly common as a secretion in the Hemipteran...
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
KākāThe New Zealand Kaka, also known as Kākā is a parrot endemic to the forests of New Zealand.-Taxonomy and naming:The New Zealand Kaka was described by German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788. There are two subspecies, the North Island Kākā, Nestor meridionalis septentrionalis, and the...
. The infestation is common and does not appear to harm the tree.
Both varieties have been planted in Great Britain and var. cliffortiodes has shown better cold tolerance than var. solandri in places like
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
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