The Beautiful and Natural Colors of A Myrtle Beech Flooring
 The Myrtle Beech or Nothofagus cunninghamii is native to south eastern Australia and Tasmania. It is an evergreen tree that grows primarily in temperate rainforests, which are now clearly diminishing. Because of this, harvesting Myrtle is restricted in various reserves, which is not related at all to the Myrtle family, it can grow as high as 55 meters tall with enormous trunks with scaly and dark brown covering.
Across the wet forests of Tasmania, the Myrtle Beech dots the scenery. In some selected reserves, its supply is heavily restricted, affirming that its timber products may be sourced from selected forests wherein it will be grown by long rotations.
The Myrtle Beech is once the representative of a specific tree species that grow in a vast area in Australia. It is the dominant species in the cool temperate rainforest. It can also be found in the southern continents of South America and Antarctica. It used to be part of a very unique suite of plants that thrived abundantly in the Gondwana supercontinent. At present, it has gained a strong foothold in Tasmania as well as in Victoria.
The Myrtle Beech can reach up to 50 meters and can be more than 500 years in age. Despite its number, more than the sassafras and leatherwood, the Myrtle Beech is not able to tolerate shaded areas. It needs the sunlight to be able to grow at a rapid pace. When the tree dies, it leaves a enormous gap that its extensive canopy occupied thereby providing the young myrtle plants the chance to grow.
Myrtle Beech is very different from the European Myrtle and they only share the common name ‘Myrtle’ because that was how it were called by the early timbermen. The Myrtle Beech timber is very dense and durable. Its wood wears a rich red-brown with traces of the orange color. Its color is belived to be derived from the color of a very fertile soils rich in basalt. The deep red color matched with a close grained feature with burls or knots make the Myrtle timber very unique and attractive.
However, pale and pink Myrtle variations are also available for various commercial applications. The wood grain is usually even and straight but may have amazing figures with a rich sheen or streaked with flames of orange. These features make it ideal for superior quality furniture or featured panels in many homes and even corporate offices. Its distinct burls and knots are also highly favoured by many craftsmen.
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