Envoy at 04:55, 11 October 2007

2007-10-11T04:55:48Z

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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Antarctic Beech
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Fagales]]
| familia = [[Nothofagus|Nothofagaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Nothofagus]]''
| species = '''''N. cunninghamii'''''
| binomial = ''Nothofagus cunninghamii''
| binomial_authority = (Hook.) [[Anders Sandoe Oersted (botanist)|Oerst.]]
}}

The '''Myrtle Beech''' (''Nothofagus cunninghamii''), is an [[evergreen]] tree native to south eastern [[Australia]] and [[Tasmania]]. It grows mainly in the diminishing temperate [[rainforest]]s. It is not related to the [[Myrtaceae|Myrtle family]].

These trees typically grow to 55 m tall and have large trunks with scaly, dark brown bark. The [[Leaf|leaves]] are simple and alternate, growing 1 cm long. The leaf color is dark green, with new growth brilliant red, pink or orange in spring. They are triangular with irregular minute teeth. The [[flower]]s are inconspicuous yellow-green [[catkin]]s. The [[fruit]] is a 6 mm, capsule containing three small winged [[nut (fruit)|nuts]].

Occasionally you will see large orange-like fruiting bodies of a fungus protuding from the trunk.

===Uses and cultivation===
It is an excellent [[cabinetry]] timber with strong, tough, close grain. It is a soft pink, often figured and can be polished to a fine [[wikt:sheen|sheen]]. Used for flooring, [[joinery]], [[cog]]s of wheels, and furniture. It is harvested from old growth forest but the vast majority of the timber is left on the ground as it grows with the heavily harvested [[Eucalyptus regnans|mountain ash]]. Density 750-880 kg/m³.

''N. cunninghamii'' is a fairly robust species, requiring around 900 mm of rain spread throughout the year. It grows best in the deep red mountain soils of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], or in highly organic soils. It can grow in full shade, albeit slowly, through to full sun, given enough water. It is easily grown from fresh seed, germinating in a few weeks. Cuttings can be struck, although they tend to perform less well than seed grown plants. It can survive temperatures of 45 °C down to −7 °C.

Both ''N. cunninghamii'' and the closely related [[Nothofagus moorei|''N. moorei'']] are excellent hosts for [[epiphyte]]s.

===Threats===
Myrtle wilt, a parasitic fungus, attacks Myrtle beech when the air-borne spores settle on open wounds. It is a natural disease of ''N. cunninghamii'', but in recent years it has become a serious problem due to poor logging practices.

Myrtle Beech forests can not survive strong fire, and must re-estabilish from neighbouring areas. They can, however, survive light fires, by regenerating from seed, or sometimes vegetatively from [[anatomical terms of location|basal]] [[epicormic shoot]]s. Generally Myrtle Beech forests only form once a wet [[sclerophyll]] forest reaches maturity, taking several hundred years to do so.

==External links==
*[http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Nothofagus+cunninghamii&CAN=LATIND Growing myrtle beech in Britain]
*[http://www.oren.org.au/issues/naturecons/rainforest/myrtlewilt/MWintro.htm Myrtle wilt.]

[[Category:Nothofagaceae]]
[[Category:Flora of Australia]] 
[[Category:Flora of Tasmania]]
[[Category:Wood]]

Nothofagus cunninghamii - Revision history

Envoy at 04:55, 11 October 2007