Nothofagus moorei
| Antarctic beech | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Comboyne, Australia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fagales |
| Family: | Nothofagaceae |
| Genus: | Lophozonia |
| Species: | L. moorei |
| Binomial name | |
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Lophozonia moorei (F.Muell.) Heenan & Smissen |
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| Synonyms | |
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Nothofagus moorei |
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Nothofagus moorei
Fagus moorei
Lophozonia moorei, commonly known as Antarctic beech, is an important Gondwana relict of the rainforests of the southern hemisphere. It occurs in wet, fire-free areas at high altitude in eastern Australia.
Ferdinand von Mueller described the Antarctic beech in 1866, from material collected near the Bellinger River by Charles Moore.
Once referred to as 'negrohead beech', but now as 'Antarctic beech' (not to be confused with its South American relative, Nothofagus antarctica) is an evergreen tree native to the eastern highlands of Australia. L. moorei was known as Nothofagus moorei before 2013. The change in name from Nothofagus to Lophozonia is controversial.
Within the genus, it is part of a lineage of three evergreen species, the other two being silver beech (L. menziesii) of New Zealand and myrtle beech (L. cunninghamii) of Tasmania and Victoria.
These trees typically grow to 25 m (80 ft) tall and have large trunks to 1 m in diameter with scaly, dark brown bark. Maximum height is about 50 m. The leaves are simple and alternate, growing six centimeters long. The leaf color is dark green, with new growth brilliant red, or orange in spring. The tree is partially deciduous, dropping half its leaves in autumn. They are triangular with fine teeth. The plants have separate male and female flowers that occur on the same tree. The flowers are small and form inconspicuous clusters near the leaves towards the end of the branches. The fruit, produced from December to February, is a small woody structure of four prickly valves. Each fruit contains three small winged nuts.
Complicated root structures are frequently exhibited. These roots would once have been soil-covered, but have been exposed over the ages by erosion, and covered in moss and lichen. Many of the trees have multiple trunks emanating from a crown, formed by this root structure. Fires are detrimental to the survival of the Antarctic Beech which, unlike many other Australian plants, is slow to recover from fire.
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Wikipedia