Roble beech Nothofagus obliqua

The explorers who discovered this beech in Chile thought it looked like a tree from their home country and named it 'roble' - the Spanish word for oak. One of many southern hemisphere beeches, the roble beech is fast-growing and hardy, making it an ideal timber tree.

The word 'roble' is Spanish for oak and came to describe a beech tree when Spanish explorers came across Nothofagus obliqua in its native Chile. They saw a resemblance in shape to the oaks from their own country and the name has stuck.

It is a true beech, despite Nothofagus translating literally as false beech, and like all trees in this genus this species is found only in the temperate climates of the southern hemisphere. Australasia is home to other Nothofagus species, but the vast majority of those now found in Britain are from South America.

Introduced in 1902, the roble beech was soon noted as being faster growing than our native beeches. Its suitability as a timber tree is further enhanced by the fact that it does not have its bark stripped by squirrels, a regular feature of hardwood trees in Britain.

Native to Argentina as well as Chile, Nothofagus obliqua can grow to around 30m (100ft) in height and typically has a narrow crown, although this tends to become wider as the tree ages. The branches near the top of the tree grow upwards, those in the middle tend to arch while the smaller, lower branches spread out and down, giving the tree a uniform if slightly unusual upright appearance.