Nothofagus menziesii

Nothofagus menziesii, commonly known as silver beech, is a species of evergreen tree in the family Nothofagaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand and is widespread in the North and South Islands. It reaches a height of up to 30 metres (100 feet) tall, with a trunk of up to 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) in diameter. N. menziesii has an estimated lifespan of 600 years.

Nothofagus menziesii was first described in 1871 by the British botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker, who named the species in honour of the Scottish naturalist Archibald Menzies. N. menziesii is categorised in the subgenus Lophozonia within the genus Nothofagus. The origin of the Nothofagus genus can be traced to the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, where it likely emerged around 80–90 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous epoch in the Antarctic Peninsula. N. menziesii's inflorescences (flower clusters) are found in groups of 1–4 per branchlet, with short, slightly hairy stalks that support a single terminal flower. The perianth (floral structure) is 5–6 mm in diameter, consisting of two uneven parts, each split into 2–3 segments. It has 30–36 pollen-producing stamens with tiny anthers on the top. Its bark is smooth and is a silvery-greyish colour on young trees, with horizontal lenticels, gradually becoming more furrowed on the tree as it matures.

Nestor meridionalis (kākā) individuals occasionally visit the tree, deeply scarring the branches and trunk, while searching for the larvae of Aenetus virescens (pūriri moth). Across the country, deer browse seedlings, young specimens, and consume the foliage, often leading to the death of seedlings. New Zealand's Nothofagus species are considered taonga (treasured) by Māori and the timber from the tree was an important resource that was crafted into fishing hooks. N. menziesii's conservation status was assessed by the IUCN Red List in 2017 as "Least Concern", and its population trend was assessed as "Stable".