4472

5(2): Timber trees; Minor commercial timbers

Nothofagus grandis v. Steenis

This article should be read together with the article on the genus: Nothofagus in the Handbook volume indicated above in this database.

Blumea 7: 147 (1952).

Indonesia: diri (Kapauku language, Wissel Lakes, Irian Jaya), taro (Enga language, Wabag, Irian Jaya).

New Guinea, rare in the western part, common in the eastern part.

The wood is used as New Guinea beech. The tree is also planted as an ornamental around villages. When people feel sick due to the smell of the dead after a funeral, they eat crushed leaves together with the fern Pteridium aquilinum Kuhn, mixed with fish.

A large tree up to 45 m tall, bole branchless for up to 25 m, up to 150(—250) cm in diameter, sometimes with small buttresses; leaves elliptical-oblong, 4.5—10 cm 2—5 cm, entire, midrib red and ridged to at least halfway, with 7—9 pairs of secondary veins, petiole 3—10 mm long, stipules elliptical, 5—7 mm 3.5—4 mm; male flowers in triads on a peduncle 2—9 mm long, female flowers solitary; cupule broadly elliptical, 13—17 mm 8—14 mm, with (2—)3—4 lamellae, sessile or on a peduncle 1—4 mm long; nut rhomboid or mostly orbicular, 7—10 mm 9.5—10 mm. Nothofagus grandis is one of the commonest Nothofagus species of Papua New Guinea and occurs in montane forest at 1350—2600 m altitude, often as the dominant species or sometimes associated with Phyllocladus hypophyllus Hook.f.

[25]Ash, J., 1982. The Nothofagus Blume (Fagaceae) of New Guinea. In: Gressitt, J.L. (Editor): Biogeography and ecology of New Guinea. Vol. 1. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague, Boston, London. pp. 355–380.
[85]Cartledge, E.G., Shaw, D.E. & Stamps, D.J., 1975. Studies in relation to dead patches of Nothofagus in Papua New Guinea. Research Bulletin No 13. Department of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries, Port Moresby. pp. 1–25.
[145]Eddowes, P.J., 1977. Commercial timbers of Papua New Guinea, their properties and uses. Forest Products Research Centre, Department of Primary Industry, Port Moresby. xiv + 195 pp.
[162]Flora Malesiana (various editors), 1950–. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston, London.
[236]Hill, R.S. & Read, J., 1991. A revised infrageneric classification of Nothofagus (Fagaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 105: 37–72.
[239]Holdsworth, D. & Sakulas, H., 1992. High altitude medicinal plants of Papua New Guinea. Part II. Mount Wilhelm, Simbu Province. International Journal of Pharmacognosy 30: 1–4.
[501]Poole, A.L., 1987. Southern beeches. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Information Series No 162. Science Information Publishing Centre, Wellington. x + 148 pp.
[662]van Steenis, C.G.G.J., 1953. Results of the Archbold expeditions, Papuan Nothofagus. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 34: 301–374.

F. Arentz & M.S.M. Sosef

Arentz, F. & Sosef, M.S.M., 1995. Nothofagus grandis v. Steenis. In: Lemmens, R.H.M.J., Soerianegara, I. and Wong, W.C. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 5(2): Timber trees; Minor commercial timbers. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea