On a rather dank December day I came across a number of Southern Beech planted within a Corsican pine plantation near Tidmarsh, Berkshire.
These trees have a good upright habit -
- and have a distinctive bark quite unlike any other UK native tree - quite scaly and more like a spruce than the smooth bark of European beech.
The leaves are at first sight easily confused with Sweet Chestnut as they are long with jagged edges however closer inspection reveals that these are different and can be very large indeed.
I picked up one large leaf and found this to be 12" long x 6" wide having 19 veins on either side of the leaf axil. According to Alan Mitchell [Trees of Britain] this characteristic indicates that this is most likely Rauli [Nothofagus procera] Southern Beech.
The ground underneath these trees was littered with small Rauli seedlings and hence obviously these trees appear to regenerate naturally in the generally mild South of England climate and even appear to survive the effects of deer predation.
Unlike European Beech these trees produce good durable timber and so maybe should be considered along with European White Oak, Sweet Chestnut, Locust and Catalpa as a timber suitable for external building purposes.
Ken Hume OWG
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Southern Beech