Nothofagus fusca. Tawairaunui. Hututawai. Red beech.
Māori names
Māori names
tawhai, tawai, tawhairaunui, hutu, hututawai (all in Williams 1971. Recorded by Best, Colenso), hutu-tawhai (Conservator of State Forests 1877)
Common names
Dyes
Contains tannin (Smith 1879). Used for tanning (Aston 1918b)
Fishing and hunting
Chip of tawhai used as bait for barracouta (Colenso 1868b).
Construction
Timber not greatly useful. Boat-knees, cask staves (Colenso 1868a).
Notes
" The true black birch is a noble tree, found from Kaitaia ... to Otago, but often local and absent from extensive districts. ... This species [Nothofagus fusca] is almost invariably termed black birch in Auckland and Otago, red birch in Wellington and Nelson .... In fact, the term "birch" may be regarded as a generic name applied by bushmen to any small-leaved tree, and qualified with the prefixes 'black', 'white', or 'red', at the caprice of the individual...." (Conservator of State Forests 1877)
