Beech cupules. The husk can have a variety of spine- to scale-like appendages, the character of which is, in addition to leaf shape, one of the primary ways beeches are differentiated. The nuts are edible, though bitter (though not nearly as bitter as acorns) with a high tannin content, and are called beechnuts or beechmast. The name of the tree (Latin "fagus", whence the species name; cognate with English "beech") is of Indo-European origin, and played an important role in early debates on the geographical origins of the Indo-European people. Greek φηγός is from the same root, but the word was
Antarctic Beech at Comboyne sediments of the Lorne basin. The plateau has a wet, sub tropical climate, though subject to frost and occasional snow. The Antarctic Beech group (Nothofagaceae) is an ancient type of tree, of significance to southern hemisphere botanical distribution. This group is often associated with the breakup of the ancient super continent Gondwana. Plants in the Nothofagaceae are currently found in southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and Australasia (east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea and New Caledonia). Previously known as Nothofagus moorei, the Antarctic Beech is a cool temperate rainforest tree, usually seen on the Great Dividing Range up