Plate 183.— FAGUS CLIFFORTIOIDES. 



Family OUPULIFER^.] [Genus FAGUS, Linn. 



Fagus cliffortioides, Hook. f. in Hook. Ic. Plant, t. 673 and t. 816b ; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. 

 Fl. 643. 



So far as I can ascertain, this well-known tree was first gathered in Dusky Sound 

 in the year 1791 by Mr. A. Menzies, the surgeon to Vancouver's expedition. His 

 specimens, however, remained unnoticed for more than fifty ye'ars, for it was not 

 until 1844 that Sir J. D. Hooker figured and described the species in the " Icones 

 Plantarum." Almost immediately afterwards it was collected on the Nelson moun- 

 tains by Mr. Bidwill, and on the Ruahine Range by Mr. Colenso. And, as soon 

 as the vegetation of the mountainous interior of both the North and South Islands 

 was examined, it was found that our plant was a dominant and widely distributed 

 species, ranging from the Bast Cape to Foveaux Strait. 



F. cliffortioides, for which Kirk's suggested name of " mountain-beech " should 

 be adopted, forms a small tree from 15 ft. or 20 ft. to 50 ft. in height. Its size, how- 

 ever, is purely a matter of altitude, exposure, and soil. Near the upward limit of 

 its growth it may be reduced to a densely branched bush a few feet in height, while 

 in favourable situations, at a comparatively moderate elevation — say, from 2,000 ft. 

 to 3,000 ft. — it sometimes reaches an extreme height of 60 ft., with a trunk over 2 ft. 

 in diameter. The bark of the old trees is dark brown, but in young plants it is 

 usually pale-coloured. The branches spread in a more or less horizontal plane, and 

 are often arranged tier above tier, and the branchlets have their minor divisions 

 and the leaves inserted in a distichous manner. The leaves are the smallest in the 

 genus, the average size being from Jin. to |-in. ; but I have seen specimens barely 

 more than Jin., and sometimes they are as much as fin. In outline they vary 

 from ovate-oblong to ovate or ovate-orbicular, thus differing from those of F. Solandri, 

 in which they are always oblong. The leaves are also more pointed at the apex 

 and more rounded at the base than in F. Solandri. The upper surface is glabrous, 

 but the under surface is more or less clothed with greyish-white hairs. The flowers 

 are produced in great profusion, but the males greatly outnumber the females, and 

 from their red colour often tinge the whole tree. The wood is not considered to be 

 durable, but is often used for fence-posts, &c., in districts where it is the chief tree. 



In the mountain districts of the South Island, especially on the eastern flanks 

 of the Southern Alps, and on the central mountains of the North Island, Fagus 

 cliffortioides often constitutes the greater portion of the mountain-forests, and in 

 some localities is almost the only tree. In such situations it imparts a peculiar 

 physiognomy to the forest. The general appearance is dark, sombre, and gloomy, 

 particularly when looked at from a little distance, when it appears to cover 

 mountain-slope and valley alike with one uniform sheet of dark dull green. But, 

 as Mr. Kirk remarks ("Forest Flora," p. 201), when isolated trees of symmetrical 

 shape are scattered over the landscape, giving a park-like character to the scenery, 

 the general effect is decidedly pleasing. Within the forest there is often but little 

 undergrowth, and that mainly composed of young plants of the Fagus. In fact, 

 the open nature of the forest, and the comparative ease with which it can be 

 penetrated in all directions, is one of the characteristic features of a forest of 

 F. cliffortioides. 



Plate 183. Fayus cliffoitioides, drawn from specimens collected on Ruapehu, and on Mount 

 Arthur, Nelson. Fig. 1, male inflore.scence ( x 3) ; 2 and 3, front and back view of stameu.s { x 0) ; 

 4, female inflorescence ( x 3) ; 5, ovary ( x 3) ; 6, fruit ( x 5) ; 7, involucre ( x 5) ; 8, section of fruit ( x 5). 



