Classification
Class
Magnoliopsida Brongn.
Order
Fagales Engl.
Family
Nothofagaceae Kuprian.
 Subordinate Taxa
 Nomenclature
Scientific Name:
Fuscospora (R.S.Hill & J.Read) Heenan & Smissen, Phytotaxa 146: 12 (2013) – as Fuscaspora
Synonymy:
  • ≡ Nothofagus subgen. Fuscospora R.S.Hill & J.Read, Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 105: 69 (1991)
  • = Nothofagus sect. Planae Steenis, Blumea 7: 306 (1952) nom. illeg.
  • = Nothofagus sect. Sempervirentes subsect. Quadripartitae Steenis, Blumea 7: 146 (1952)
  • = Nothofagus sect. Sempervirentes Steenis, Blumea 7: 146 (1952)
  • = Nothofagus subgen. Nothofagus sect. Calusparassus subsect. Quadripartitae (Steenis) Steenis, J. Arnold Arbor. 34: 337 (1953)
  • = Nothofagus subgen. Nothofagus sect. Calusparassus subsect. Tripartitae Steenis, J. Arnold Arbor. 34: 338 (1953)
  • = Pleiosyngyne Baum.-Bod., Syst. Fl. Neu-Caledonien 86 (1992) nom. inval.
  • = Nothofagus sect. Calucechinus subsect. Saccofagus Baum.-Bod., Syst. Fl. Neu-Caledonien 93 (1992)
Type Taxon:
Nothofagus fusca (Hook.f.) Oerst. ≡ Fuscospora fusca (Hook.f.) Heenan & Smissen
 Description

Evergreen trees or shrubs up to 40 m high. Stipules peltate or non-peltate. Leaves distichous, lamina margins entire or 1-serrate; fimbrial vein incomplete; with or without large globular glandular trichomes on cuticle; with solitary unicellular trichome type A with a very small, unthickened base and with a large, unicellular, thin-walled trichome emerging; without solitary unicellular trichome type C. Stomata randomly oriented; without thickened T-pieces of cuticle at the poles separating the two guard cells; without giant stomata over the major veins; stomata size within the areoles variable. Upper epidermal cells over veins more elongate than areolar cells, with granular cell walls. Male dichasium 1–3-flowered; flowers campanulate, lobes prominent or weak, symmetric or asymmetric; stamens <20, centripetal development; anthers slightly curved, distal connective protrusion weakly developed, filament connective free, without epidermal papillae. Female dichasium with 1 central dimerous flower and 2 lateral trimerous flowers, or 1 dimerous flower and 1 trimerous flower; stigmas clavate and weakly decurrent. Cupule valves 2–4; outer surface of valves with simple trichomes; lamellae membranous becoming scarious, 1–3 rows/valve, margin entire becoming erose; nuts triquetrous or lenticular, often twisted, 3- or 2-winged.

Pollen: Peritreme, mesocolpia straight to convex; colpi short, spatulate or parallel-sided, with U-shaped ends, margins inwardly conspicuously heavily thickened, aperture 4–11 µm long, polar to equatorial lengths ratio = 0.3.

 Key
1Lamina margins entire, smooth2
Lamina margins toothed3
2Lamina ovate to triangular-ovate, often undulate, tapered obliquely to basecliffortioides
Lamina oblong-elliptic to ovate, usually planar, tapered evenly to base solandri
3Lamina teeth sharp, apiculate, tapered obliquely to base; domatia present in the axils of the midrib and lower secondary veins on the abaxial side of the laminafusca
Lamina teeth blunt, not apiculate, tapered equally to base; domatia absent from the axils of the midrib and lower secondary veins on the abaxial side of the laminatruncata
 Distribution

A genus of six species in Australia, New Zealand and Chile. Fuscospora is represented by one endemic species in each of Australia and Chile, and four endemic species in New Zealand.

 Biostatus
Indigenous (Non-endemic)
Number of species in New Zealand within Fuscospora (R.S.Hill & J.Read) Heenan & Smissen
CategoryNumber
Indigenous (Endemic)4
Total4
 Hybridisation

In New Zealand hybrids have been documented between all species of Fuscopora the most common being that between F. cliffortioides and F. solandri. There are three formally named hybrids:

Fuscospora ×apiculata (Colenso) Heenan & Smissen

Hybrid parentage: Fuscospora solandri (Hook.f.) Heenan & Smissen × F. truncata (Colenso) Heenan & Smissen (Cockayne & Allan 1934).

Fuscospora ×blairii (Kirk) Heenan & Smissen

Hybrid parentage: Fuscospora fusca (Hook.f.) Heenan & Smissen × F. cliffortioides (Hook.f.) Heenan & Smissen (Cockayne & Allan 1934).

Fuscospora ×dubia (Kirk) Heenan & Smissen

Hybrid parentage: Fuscospora solandri (Hook.f.) Heenan & Smissen × F. fusca (Hook.f.) Heenan & Smissen. (Cockayne & Atkinson 1926; Allan 1929).

 Bibliography
Allan, H.H. 1929: Illustrations of wild hybrids in the New Zealand flora. VI. Genetica 11: 491–508.
Baumann-Bodenheim, M.G. 1992: Trisyngyne. Systematik der Flora von Neu-Caledonien (Melanesien-Südpazifik). Mrs A. L. Baumann, Herrliberg.
Cockayne, L.; Allan, H.H. 1934: An annotated list of groups of wild hybrids in the New Zealand flora. Annals of Botany 48: 1–55.
Cockayne, L.; Atkinson, E.H. 1926: On the New Zealand wild hybrids of Nothofagus. Genetica 8: 1–43.
Du Rietz, G.E. 1930: On domatia in the genus Nothofagus . Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift 24: 4.
Haase, P. 1992: Isozyme variability and biogeography of Nothofagus truncata (Fagaceae). New Zealand Journal of Botany 30: 315–328.
Heenan, P.B.; Smissen, R.D. 2013: Revised circumscription of Nothofagus and recognition of the segregate genera Fuscospora, Lophozonia, and Trisyngyne (Nothofagaceae). Phytotaxa 146(1): 1–31.
Hill, R.S.; Read, J. 1991: A revised infrageneric classification of Nothofagus (Fagaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 105: 37–72.
Ogden, J. 1989: On the coenospecies concept and tree migrations during the oscillations of the Pleistocene climate. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 19: 249–262.
Ogden, J.; Stewart, G.H.; Allen, R.B. 1996: Ecology of New Zealand Nothofagus forests. In: Veblen, T.T.; Hill, R.S.; Read, J. (ed.) The ecology and biogeography of Nothofagus forests. Yale University Press, New Haven. 82–25.
Poole, A.L. 1950a: Studies of New Zealand Nothofagus 1. Taxonomy and Floral Morphology. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand 78: 323–380.
Poole, A.L. 1950b: Studies of the New Zealand Nothofagus species 2. Nut and cupule development. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand 78(4): 502–508.
Poole, A.L. 1951: Hybrid southern beeches. New Zealand Journal of Forestry 6: 144–145.
Poole, A.L. 1952: The development of Nothofagus seed. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand 80: 207–212.
Poole, A.L. 1958: Studies of New Zealand Nothofagus species. 3. The entire-leaved species. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand 85: 551–564.
Poole, A.L. 1987: Southern Beeches. Science Information Publishing Centre, DSIR, Wellington.
Smissen, R.D.; Mitchell, C.; Roth, M.; Heenan, P.B. 2015: Absence of hybridisation between Fuscospora species at a site in Arthur’s Pass National Park, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 53(3): 168–174.
Smissen, R.D.; Morse, C.W.; Prada, D.; Ramón-Laca, A.; Richardson, S.J. 2012: Characterisation of seven polymorphic microsatellites for Nothofagus subgenus Fuscospora from New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 50(2): 227–231.
Smissen, R.D.; Richardson, S.J.; Morse, C.W.; Heenan, P.B. 2014: Relationships, gene flow and species boundaries among New Zealand Fuscospora (Nothofagaceae: southern beech). New Zealand Journal of Botany 52(4): 389–406.
Steenis, C.G.G.J. van 1952a: Errata. Blumea 7: 306.
Steenis, C.G.G.J. van 1952b: Preliminary account of Papuan Nothofagus. Blumea 7: 146–147.
Steenis, C.G.G.J. van 1953: Results of the Archbold Expedition. Papuan Nothofagus. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 34: 301–373.
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