MAORI MEMORIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 October 1938, Page 9

MAORI MEMORIES

BEECH OR BIRCH. (Recorded by J.H.S. for “Times-Age.”) The beech forests of New Zealand are known as birch. This arises from its small bronze leaf and bark resembling that tree more nearly than the graceful large leaf beech of the Northern Hemisphere. In the western ranges of the South Island each of the varieties known to us as the white, silver, red or black birch grows clannishly apart. In the coastal districts almost every variety grows side by side with other trees. There are two types of beech forests; one with its dark brown stem ten or twelve feet in circumference, rising to 100 feet high, their wide spreading branches overtopping their neighbours. A visit to the beech forest at sunrise or near sunset gives an impression never to be forgotten, the horizontal rays lighting up the bronze green leaves and burnishing them as with a coat of gold, the great dark stems standing out in relief. In the moonlight one sees a veritable fairyland. In the noontide the growth of silver lichen on every branch gives a sharp contrast to the foliage. A variety of mistletoe makes a hostage of the birch, the green leaves and scarlet flowers making beauty more striking in the sombre foliage. As a single tree or massed in a vast forest the birch has few if any equals for elegance of form and beauty. Its texture was too tough for the Maori stone implements, but to the pakeha it is a valuable product. It is remarkable that not a single specimen grows on Stewart Island, so near its home.