FAGUS SOLANDRI, Hook. t. 
THE ENTIRE-LEAVED BEECH. 
OrpER—CUPULIFERZEZ. 
(Plate LVI.) 
Art the New Zealand beeches belong to the section of Fagus characterized by 
evergreen leaves, and the presence of curious transverse membranous or glandular 
plates on the leaves of the involucral cup which contains the female flowers. 
Mr. Colenso informs me that all the. New Zealand species are termed tawhat 
by the Natives, the present species being sometimes termed “ tawhairauriki.” 
Like all small-leaved forest trees it is termed ‘‘ birch”’ by the bushman. In the 
Wellington District it is generally known as “ black-birch.”’ In Canterbury it is 
termed “black-birch,” ‘ white-birch,”’ ‘ red-birch,’ and ‘‘brown-birch.” In 
Nelson it is usually known as ‘‘ white-birch.’’” In Otago it is known as ‘ white- 
birch,” ‘‘ black-birch,’’ and ‘‘ black-heart birch.’’ It is not too much to say that 
the blundering use of common names in connection with the New Zealand 
beeches, when the timber has been employed in bridges and constructive works, 
has caused waste and loss to the value of many thousands of pounds. As the 
first step towards preventing these blunders in the future, I have proposed the 
name of ‘ entire-leaved beech” for this species, the Native name being applied 
too vaguely to be of any real value. 
Fagus Solandri was discovered by Banks and Solander, in Queen Charlotte 
Sound, in 1769, and received the MS. name of Myrtilloides cinerascens, which was 
subsequently altered by Dryander to Cliffortioides oblonga. It was first described 
and published by Sir William Hooker in 1844 under the name of Fagus Solandr1, 
in honour of Dr. Solander, one of its original discoverers. 
The entire-leaved beech is a fine evergreen tree, forming continuous forests, 
which often cover vast areas. It sometimes attains the height of tooft., but is 
usually from 6oft. to 80ft. high. with a trunk from aft. to 4ft. in diameter or more. 
In the young state the bark is white and smooth; it ultimately becomes furrowed, 
rough, and black, but never assumes the peculiar brown tint often exhibited by 
the tooth-leaved beech. The young branches are more or less clothed with fine 
pubescence. ‘The leaves are of thick texture, narrow, oblong, quite entire, obtuse, 
wedge-shaped at the base, and on mature trees densely pubescent beneath ; the 
upper surface is finely reticulated: they are from in. to jin. long, and about 
;3;in. broad, rarely more. 
Male and female flowers are produced on the same tree, and are widely dis- 
similar in appearance. The male flowers are solitary or in fascicles of two or 
three, carried on a common stalk springing from the axils of the leaves on last 
year’s shoots. Each flower consists of a shallow membranous brown cup or 
perianth with four or five sub-acute teeth, containing from eight to thirteen 
stamens on short filaments, springing from a central receptacle, and drooping over 
the edges of the perianth when fully expanded. The female flowers are minute, 
axillary, sessile, usually consisting of a cup-shaped involucre divided nearly to 
the base into three segments, each with three transverse membranous scales or 
