Micropropagation of fagus sp

• Main Authors: Viéitez Martín, Ana María, San José, M. Carmen, Sánchez Fernández, M. Concepción, Ballester, Antonio
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Nature 2003
• Subjects: Antarctic; New Zealand; Torre; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/197733; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0125-0_7

619 pp. The genus Fagus, a member of the Fagaceae family, comprises ten species of monrecious trees native to the Northern Hemisphere Temperate Zone regions of Eurasia and Eastern North America. The name Fagus (related to Greek phagein, to eat) is a reference to the distinctive triangular nuts of these species, which are eaten by both wildlife and humans. The chief members of this genus are Fagus sylvatica L. (European beech), which is one of the economically most important deciduous trees of Central Europe and together with oaks defmes the climax vegetation of this region; F orientalis Lipski (Oriental beech), a native of the temperate regions of Eastern Europe, the Balkan peninsula, the Caucasus and Asia Minor; F grandiflora Ehrh. (American beech), a native of Eastern North America that is both of great ornamental value and highly prized as timber; and F japonica Max. and F sieboldi Engl., both of which are Japanese species that are very similar to European beech (Chalupa 1996). The closely related genus Nothofagus (Southland beech, Antarctic beech) comprises 45 tree or shrub species native to the Southern Hemisphere that are of great importance in the mesophile forests and high-altitude and high-latitude communities of the Southern Andes, New Guinea, Southern Australia and New Zealand. Beech trees are thus important both as major components of ecosystems and economically. Their fme-grained wood is used for flooring, furniture and veneers, and is also excellent fIrewood because of its high density and good burning qualities. Ornamental varieties are also of economic importance: ornamental varieties of European beech include purple beech (var. atropunicea or var. purpureae Ait.), which has purplish bronze foliage; a variety with pendant branches (var. pendula); a cut-leaved form (var. laciniata); and var. asplenifolia Lodd (Ceballos and Ruiz de la Torre, 1979). Peer reviewed