326 PATAGONIAN EXPEDITIONS ! BOTANY. 



Species 375, widely distributed. The subfamily of beeches differs from 

 the oaks and chestnuts by having the male flowers in globular axillary 

 clusters and the nut 3-angled, mostly with folded cotyledons. The 

 Antarctic beeches (Nothofagus, often called "birches" because of their 

 small leaves), differ from the common or northern beeches (Fagus} thus : 



Fagus. Male clusters stalked, many-flowered. Female flowers 2. Styles long. 

 Nothofagus. Male flowers solitary or in threes, in short axillary cymes. Female flowers 2 or 4. 

 Styles short. Scales of the 4- (or 2)-parted cupule folding separately. 



NOTHOFAGUS Blume. 



v 



Style small ; stigma capitate. Leaves usually 2-ranked. 



Species 12; in Antarctic S. Amer. ; 4 in N. Zeal.; N. cunninghami 

 forming groves in S. Australia and Tasmania. Also fossil. 



Of the Patagonian and Chilian forms some are evergreen with flat 

 leaves, others have deciduous leaves plicate along the lateral nerves. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



A. Young leaves folded along the lateral nerves. Deciduous. 

 b. Female flowers in 3's, enclosed by a 4-merous fruit-cup. 



c. Leaf-blades 2-5 cm. long, undulate, bluish-green on under surface. Lobes of fruit-cup 



with short, flat, green dorsal processes. N. obliqua. 



c2. Leaf-blades of non-flowering or fruiting shoots 10-12 cm. long, not undulate. Lobes 



of the fruit-cup with long, leafy, pinnatifid, green appendages. N. procera. 



c$. Leaf-blades 2-2.5 cm - l n g> somewhat wavy and lobed. Lobes of fruit cup with 3-4 

 horizontal, short red processes, incised on apical margin. N. antarctica. 



c\. Leaf-blade 2-2.5 cm - l n g> verv reticulate. Lobes of fruit-cup not appendaged. 



N. montagnei. 



bz. Female flowers solitary. Fruit-cup with 2 small lobes. Narrow. N. pumilio. 



A2. Young leaves flat. Leaves persisting ; trees evergreen. 



b. Leaf-blade lanceolate, dark-green. Male flowers in 3's. 7V. dombeyi. 



i>2. Leaf-blades ovate-elliptical, dark-green, glandular underneath. Male flowers solitary. 



N. betitloides. 



b$. Leaves trapezoid-ovate, yellow-green. Male flowers in 3*3. N. nitida. 



A$. Of doubtful place and character. N. alpina. 



(I) Leaves plicate along the lateral nerves, deciduous. 



i. N. ANTARCTICA (Forst. sub Fagus] Blume. (Fag^ls alpina Poepp. of 



DC. Prodr., non Poepp. & Endl.) 



Leaves deciduous, plicate in vernation, ovate or elliptical, obtuse, some- 

 what obliquely truncate at base, bidentate or bicrenate, the lateral nerves 



