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Mears Bush
Plants at Mears Bush
Beech Tree
Cabbage Tree
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A fallen Black beech tree.
Scientific name: Nothofagus solandri
Common name: Black Beech
Maori name: Tawhairauriki
Black beech is a strong, durable timber (wood that we use for things like tables) that is found in cool forests from the Bay of Plenty to Northern Canterbury. It is a fast growing tree compared with other native species, reaching up to 30 meters high and up to 1 meter in diameter.
Cabbage tree grove.
Scientific name: Cordyline australis
Common name: Cabbage tree
Maori name: Ti kouka
Cordyline australis is mostly found in New Zealand. They can grow up to 20 meters tall. Their leaves can grow 1 meter long each.
Sooty bark of Black beech tree.
Many South Island beech forests are infested with scale insects, which suck sap and secrete honeydew from their anal tubes. Sooty mold fungi grow on waste honeydew that has run down tree trunks, forming a dark sponge-like covering. This is why our black beech trees look the way they do.
The long straight leaves die off as the tree grows.
When these trees flower they are beautiful. They flower in October. The white flower smell is really strong. In February the fruit of the tree ripens. Tui, Silver eye, Starlings and Blackbirds all enjoy the fruit of the Cabbage Tree.
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