DELTA home

Commercial timbers

H.G. Richter and M.J. Dallwitz

Nothofagus menziesii Oerst. (Silver beech)

Nomenclature etc. NOTHOFAGACEAE (FAGACEAE). Syn.: Fagus menziesii Hook. f. Trade and local names: silver "beech", southland "beech" (NZ). Not protected under CITES regulations.

Tree. Geographic distribution: New Zealand.

General. Growth ring boundaries distinct. Heartwood basically red to brown (pinkish to reddish brown). Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour, or distinct from heartwood colour. Density 0.44–0.48–0.52 g/cm³.

Vessels. Vessels present. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Vessel outline rounded, or angular. Perforation plates simple or scalariform (rarely scalariform). Intervessel pits scalariform to opposite (mostly opposite). Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, rounded or angular or horizontal to vertical (rarely extended, then horizontal), restricted to marginal rows. Tyloses present, thinwalled.

Tracheids and fibres. Vascular or vasicentric tracheids sporadic to absent. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres non-septate.

Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma absent or extremely rare. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 6–8.

Rays. Rays multiseriate, 1–2 cells wide (in some specimens predominantly uniseriate, on others predominantly biseriate). Rays with multiseriate portions as wide as uniseriate portions rarely present. Height of large rays up to 500 µm. Rays composed of two or more cell types (heterocellular). Heterocellular rays with square and upright cells restricted to marginal rows, mostly 1 marginal row of upright or square cells (rarely two marginal rows).

Secretory structures. Oil and mucilage cells absent.

Mineral inclusions. Crystals not observed. Silica not observed.

Illustrations. • Transverse section. • Tangential section. • Radial section. • Intervessel pitting. opposite intervessel pitting.


The interactive key allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting specified attributes, summaries of attributes within groups of taxa, and geographical distribution.


Cite this publication as: ‘Richter, H.G., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2000 onwards. Commercial timbers: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. In English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. Version: 9th April 2019. delta-intkey.com’.

Contents