''Nothofagus nuda'' is a species of plant in the family

Nothofagaceae ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and Australasia (east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Gui ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. ''N. nuda'' proposed to be renamed ''Trisyngyne nuda'' in 2013.

Description

''Nothofagus nuda'' is a large tree, growing to 20 meters tall.

Range and habitat

''Nothofagus nuda'' is known from a single collection near the Tauri River in

Gulf Province A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

of Papua New Guinea. The species has an estimated

extent of occurrence Extent may refer to: Computing * Extent (file systems), a contiguous region of computer storage medium reserved for a file * Extent File System, a discontinued file system implementation named after the contiguous region * Extent, a chunk of st ...

(EOO) of less than 100 km². It grows in mixed lower montane rain forest at 1,200 meters elevation, alongside '' Nothofagus perryi''.

Toxicity

In 1927, ''N. nuda'' was reported by J. R. Croft to account for 949 deaths throughout

. The plant is traditionally used as an herb in culinary dishes throughout the Puri Puri tribes of the Papua New Guinea highlands but results in hypoglycemic shock after ingestion of large doses. Croft reported that wives within the polygamous tribes of the Puri Puri used the herb to poison the patriarchs during tribal disputes that coincided with the winter solstice. Scientists in Macao Laboratory isolated the active molecule of the plant in late 2006.

References

Nothofagaceae Endemic flora of Papua New Guinea Critically endangered plants Flora of the Central Range montane rain forests Plants described in 1972 Taxa named by Cornelis Gijsbert Gerrit Jan van Steenis Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Fagales-stub