View source for Nothofagus truncata

{{Short description|Species of tree}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Nothofagus truncata in Hard beech forest.jpg
|status = LC
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn|author=Baldwin, H.|title=''Nothofagus truncata''|page=e.T96479196A96480050|year=2018|access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref>
|genus = Nothofagus
|parent = Nothofagus subg. Fuscospora
|species = truncata
|authority = (Colenso) Cockayne
|synonyms = *''Fuscospora truncata'' <small>(Colenso) [[Peter Brian Heenan|Heenan]] & Smissen</small>
*''Fagus truncata''
}}

'''''Nothofagus truncata''''', or '''hard beech''' ({{langx|mi|tawhairaunui|links=https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&histLoanWords=&keywords=Nothofagus+truncata}}), is a species of tree [[endemism|endemic]] to New Zealand.<ref>Flora of New Zealand. 2007</ref> Its common name derives from the fact that the timber has a high [[silica]] content, making it tough and difficult to saw.<ref name="Dawson and Lucas">John Dawson and R. Lucas. 2000</ref> Hard beech is a tree up to 30m tall occurring in lowland and lower montane forest from latitude 35°S to 42°30'S, that is, from the north of the [[North Island]] southwards to Marlborough and south [[Westland District|Westland]] in the [[South Island]].<ref name="C. Michael Hogan. 2009">C. Michael Hogan. 2009</ref> In [[Taranaki]] it forms almost pure stands on the rugged sandstone country there and is partially deciduous, dropping many of its leaves at the end of the winter.<ref name=TERRAIN>[http://www.terrain.net.nz/friends-of-te-henui-group/table-1/beech-hard-nothofagus-truncate.html ''Fuscospora truncata'' (Hard Beech)] TERRAIN</ref> ''N. truncata'' became known as ''Fuscospora truncata'' after 2013 in New Zealand.<ref name="PHYTOTAXA">{{cite journal|last1=HEENAN|first1=PETER B.|last2=SMISSEN|first2=ROB D.|title=Revised circumscription of Nothofagus and recognition of the segregate genera Fuscospora, Lophozonia, and Trisyngyne (Nothofagaceae)|journal=Phytotaxa|date=2013|volume=146|issue=1|pages=131|doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.146.1.1|url=http://biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/view/phytotaxa.146.1.1/5539|accessdate=31 May 2015|doi-access=|bibcode=2013Phytx.146....1H |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Ecology==
The [[understorey]] of forests populated by ''N. truncata'' may contain a variety of ferns and other understory vegetation; characteristic understory elements may include [[crown fern]] and [[drooping spleenwort]].<ref name="C. Michael Hogan. 2009"/>

==Morphology==
The coriaceous, hairless broadly ovate leaves range from {{convert|2.5|to|4|cm|1|abbr=on}} long, and have from eight to twelve pairs of coarse, blunt teeth. The slate to dark grey bark is thick and furrowed. The tiny red male flowers are bell-shaped and produced in large numbers while the female flowers, which are green tipped with brown, are in groups of three on short stalks growing in the axils of the leaves.<ref name=TERRAIN/>

==Uses==
The bark of ''Nothofagus truncata'' has a high [[tannin]] content and has traditionally been used for tanning leather. The timber is red when freshly cut but turns pale brown as it dries. It has been used for bridge building and for making poles, fencing posts and railway sleepers.<ref name=TERRAIN/> The wood has a fine straight grain and even texture and is used for joinery, flooring, decking and cabinet making.<ref>[http://www.nzffa.org.nz/specialty-timber-market/showcase/new-zealand-beech/hard-beech/ Hard beech: ''Nothofagus truncata''] Farm Forestry Timbers</ref>

==Hybrids==
* Hard beech hybridises with black beech (''[[Nothofagus solandri]]'') to form the hybrid species ''Nothofagus × apiculata''.<ref name="PHYTOTAXA" />

==Notes==
* John Dawson and R. Lucas. 2000. ''The Nature Guide to the New Zealand Forest'', Godwit Publishing
* Flora of New Zealand. 2007. [http://floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz/pages/Taxon.aspx?id=_c1345e69-561e-4b2c-b64e-c1852c6afb6f&fileName=Flora%201.xml ''Nothofagus truncata'']. Accessed 2010-10-04.
* C. Michael Hogan. 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120213134120/http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=95431 ''Crown Fern: Blechnum discolor'', Globaltwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg]
* New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, URL: [http://nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.asp?ID=1039 ''Nothofagus truncata'']. Accessed 2010-10-04.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{Commons-inline|Nothofagus truncata|''Nothofagus truncata''}}
*{{Wikispecies-inline}}

{{NothofagaceaeSpecies}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q2842474|from2=Q42742929}}

[[Category:Nothofagaceae]]
[[Category:Endemic flora of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Trees of New Zealand]]