Nothofagus fusca

Red beech, known in Māori as tawhai raunui and scientifically as Nothofagus fusca (or Fuscospora fusca in New Zealand), is a southern beech tree that grows only in New Zealand, found on both the North and South Islands. It typically thrives on lower hills and in inland valley floors where the soil is fertile and drains well.

This evergreen tree reaches a medium height of up to 35 metres, with leaves arranged alternately. The leaves are broad and oval-shaped, 2 to 4 centimetres long and 1.5 to 3 centimetres wide, and their edges are distinctly double-toothed—each lobe has two teeth. The tree produces a small cupule fruit that holds three seeds.

Pollen from red beech has been discovered near the Antarctic Peninsula, indicating that the species lived in Antarctica as far back as the Eocene period. It is not currently considered threatened.

Red beech is the only known plant, aside from rooibos (Aspalathus linearis), that contains the C-linked dihydrochalcone glycoside nothofagin. It is also planted as an ornamental tree in mild oceanic climates, valued for its attractive leaf shape, and has been introduced to Scotland and the northern Pacific coast of the United States. Its wood is the most durable of all New Zealand beeches and was frequently used for flooring across the country. The timber remains exceptionally stable when dried to the right moisture levels, with an average density of 630 kilograms per cubic metre at 12 percent moisture content.

Red beech can hybridise with mountain beech (Nothofagus cliffortioides) to produce Nothofagus ×blairii, with black beech (Nothofagus solandri) to produce Nothofagus ×dubia, and with the Chilean ruil tree (Nothofagus alessandrii) to produce Nothofagus ×eugenananus.