White beech facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White beech |
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| Gmelina leichhardtii at Davis Scrub Nature Reserve, Australia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Gmelina
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| Species: |
leichhardtii
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| Synonyms | |
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Vitex leichhardtii F.Muell. |
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The Gmelina leichhardtii, also known as the white beech or grey teak, is a special tree found in eastern Australia. You can find these trees scattered or in small groups from the Illawarra area of New South Wales all the way up to Proserpine in tropical Queensland.
White beech trees grow quickly. They prefer rich volcanic and alluvial soils, which are found in areas with a lot of rain. They can also grow in poorer soils if there are no fires. You might see white beech trees in Australian rainforests, but they are not very common. Sadly, unlike the Australian red cedar, the white beech has not grown back well after being cut down a lot in the past.
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What's in a Name?
A scientist named Ferdinand von Mueller first described the white beech in 1862. He called it Vitex leichhardtii. He found samples near Myall Creek and the Clarence River. Later, in 1870, George Bentham moved it to a different group of plants called Gmelina.
The name Gmelina honors a German botanist named Johann Georg Gmelin. The second part of the name, leichhardtii, honors Ludwig Leichhardt. He was an explorer who collected plants in eastern and northern Australia. White beech was once thought to be in the Verbenaceae family. Now, scientists have moved it and many other plants to the mint family, called Lamiaceae.
People call it "white beech" because its wood looks similar to the European beech tree, Fagus sylvatica. But they are not closely related at all! Another common name for this tree is "grey teak."
How to Spot a White Beech Tree
Mature white beech trees usually grow to be about 15 to 30 meters (50 to 100 feet) tall. Some very old trees can even reach 60 meters (200 feet) and live for hundreds of years! The base of the biggest trees can be more than two and a half meters (8 feet) wide. Their trunks are round, with a wide, flat base that isn't like a buttress.
The bark of the tree can be light or dark grey. It looks scaly and has vertical cracks. Sometimes, you might see bumps or burls on the trunk. Some people think these trees are semi-deciduous. This means they lose some of their leaves in late spring. You can almost always find green leaves at the bottom of the tree, which helps to identify it.
The small branches are thick, grey or brown, and hairy. You can easily see the scars where old leaves used to be. New shoots are covered in soft, fine fur.
Leaves and Flowers
The mature leaves are light green and shaped like an egg (this is called ovate). They are about 8 to 18 centimeters (3 to 7 inches) long. The underside of the leaves is hairy and has many veins. The main vein and smaller side veins are easy to see on the top. They are even more noticeable and raised on the bottom because of the light brown hairs.
The side veins are straight and branch out near the edge of the leaf. Young leaves have jagged edges. In late spring and summer, the tree produces purple, yellow, and white flowers. The fruits are ready to eat from February to May.
Where White Beech Trees Grow
The main area where white beech trees grow is from the Blackall Range and Maleny in Queensland, south to the New South Wales coast. Some experts say the southern limit is near Berry, New South Wales. Others believe it extends even further south to the Clyde River near Batemans Bay. You can also find a few isolated trees in central-northern Queensland, like in the Eungella Range.
Before Europeans settled in Australia, there were many white beech trees in Caloundra. Today, the white beech is rare and endangered in the Illawarra region. There are probably fewer than a hundred trees left in about thirty different spots there. You might see them on the Minnamurra Falls rainforest walk in Budderoo National Park, but they are not marked with signs.
These trees grow on mountain slopes and in rich soils along riverbanks. On Fraser Island, they even grow on sand hills! They usually live in subtropical rainforests. You'll often find them alone or in small groups of up to five trees. They grow alongside other trees like yellow carabeen, red carabeen, Queensland kauri pine, golden sassafras, and different types of booyong trees.
Who Eats the Fruit?
The fruit of the white beech tree is a tasty snack for some birds. The topknot pigeon and the wompoo fruit dove love to eat them.
How White Beech Trees Grow (Germination)
Around Easter time, the seeds ripen inside a soft, bluish or purple fruit. This fruit is called a drupe, and it's about 2 to 3 centimeters (1 inch) wide. Birds like the wompoo fruit dove, paradise riflebird, and topknot pigeon eat these fruits.
Inside the fruit is a hard, woody shell called a capsule. This capsule has four small sections, and each section might have a seed that can grow.
Growing New Trees
To help the seeds grow, you need to remove the fleshy part of the fruit. This part contains things that stop the seed from sprouting. Watering and drying the capsules regularly seems to help them sprout better. Growing white beech from seed is slow and can be tricky. It can take anywhere from six months to four years for a seedling to appear! Most seedlings pop up in late spring and summer.
Here's a good way to try and grow them:
- Collect fresh purple fruits.
- Cut off the soft, fleshy outer part.
- Place the hard, woody "nut" in the sun for a few days.
- When you see small cracks forming around the seed sections, put the nut in a large container.
- Make sure the capsule stays moist and warm, especially during cooler months.
Trying to crack open the hard nut with a hammer usually doesn't work. The best method is to remove the outer fruit, then let the sun crack the capsule. Moisture then gets inside to the seed. When the seed sprouts, it pushes open the capsule's sections. Remember, many capsules won't produce seedlings, so it's a good idea to collect a lot of them if you want to grow new trees.
Timber and Uses
The wood from the white beech tree is strong and lasts a long time. It's greyish and doesn't have many distinct patterns. However, it can split easily when nails are used.
This timber is highly valued for many things:
- Making templates and patterns
- Building houses
- Planking for boat hulls
- Flooring
- Making parts for carriages
- Wood carving
- Making cabinets
The wood weighs about 550 kilograms per cubic meter.
White beech trees are also great for parks and large gardens because of their size and beauty. Farmers in areas that used to be rainforests often use them as shade trees for their animals.
Images for kids
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White beech, Lamington National Park, Qld
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Giant white beech - Tooloom National Park, NSW
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White beech - fallen leaves, near Dungog
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White beech bark - Kurnell
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Bottom of juvenile leaf
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White beech at Boorganna Nature Reserve
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Flowers on the forest floor, Hacking River, Australia
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Gmelina leichhardtii fruit and Bangalow palm frond - Hacking River, Australia
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White beech - fruit
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Woody capsules, showing a gap from where a seed germinated
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White beech seedling
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White beech juvenile, Hacking River, Australia
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White beech germinating
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White beech germinating in the first week of September. Note the discarded oval part of the capsule, pushed out by the shoot. Coorabakh National Park
See also
In Spanish: Haya blanca para niños
