Our Native Trees

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23333, 29 April 1939, Page 10 (Supplement)

Our Native Trees

Why is the Tar aire

By A. G. STEVENSON

IN Auckland there is a growing tendency among householders to plant native trees in their gardens. Although not as a rue given to the production of brilliant flowers our trees nevertheless have a definite charm, and it is veiy gratifying to see that they are ieceiving move and moro recognition. Puriri and karaka are cultivated extensively, as also are the Showy pohutiikawa and kowhai, while various species of Coprosma and Pittosporum may bo seen in many a fine hedge. Jiut to mo it has alwayfi seemed strange that the taraire has been overlooked. In Auckland very few specimens of this beautiful and noble tree are to be seen, tsven in the parks, and it does seem a pity that tarairo is not given a much more proihinent place. It is easy enough to grow if protected "O™ sovero frosts while it is young, and wi soon develop into a fino symmetrical tree with straight trunk and a distinctive appearance.

Seacoast Favoured Restricted in range to the Auckland Province, tarairo is a lover of coastal situations. South of Auckland it is very sparsely scattered, but in the North it forms forests of its own, especially near the soa. It is common on the Great Barrier and on Kawau and in mo a t patches of bush that have not been destroyed on the mainland. The erect straight trunk may be as much as sixty or seventy feet high, clothed in a thin, fairly even bark, and supporting a own usually made up of but a few branches. The leaves are very distinctive quite unlike anything else in the bush. From 4in. to 6m. long, they are bluntly oval in shape, dull green on

" We're losing money hand over fist on that oddone."

top and a lighter, almost pale bluish colour tmderneath. They are hard and rigid, have the veins very prominent and in the }*oung stages have their upper surfaces covered with a rusty-col-oured hairy growth. , The flowers are quite inconspicuous, having no petals, and are produced in small Dunches in the axils of the leaves. In late autumn and winter these give Elace to handsome purple, prune-like erries about an inch and a-nalf long. These berries have hard kernels covered by a small amount of purple flesh which is not very palatable. Food for Birds

The kernels, however, were used by the Maoris as food, being steamed for a day or two in an oven before being consumed. The birds, too, find taraire berries a welcome source of sustenance at such a hungry time of the year. A real taraire forest is a most impressive sight. The tall, clean trunks rise straight from the ground to the dense roof of green leaves, like the pillars in a great cathedral. On the floor is a thick covering of dead leaves, bo thick that it effectually prevents the establishment of any kind of undergrowth. Only taraire itself and one or two other trees know how to take root through this carpet. The absence of undergrowth means that there is a dear floor of leaves, which crackle as we pass over them. Between the floor and the roof made by the dense tops i there is nothing but the straight pillars stretching row upon row through the gloom. A taraire forest has a strange

fascination that is not experienced anywhere elso. . , The wood of the taraire has not been used to any great extent. It is very straight grained and easily split, and somewhat resembles oak in appearance, but it is rather deficient in strength and durability. It is easy to work and could be used more extensively lor indoor work at least. Picture frames and broomhantlles are the only uses to which I have actually seen it put but no doubt lots of other uses could be found for it. As firewood it burns away rather rapidly and is therefore not particularly popular.

Laurel Family Taraire belongs to the Laurel family, of which there are four members in New Zealand. Tho others are tawa, mangeao and a curious leafless climber whicn forms a dense tangle over manuka and other shrubs in the Narth. Unlike the taraire the tawa is a slender-growing tree with graceful wil-low-tike foliage. It is practically restricted to the North Island, in the more northerly parts of which it often forms a large proportion of tho forests. The smooth leaves are from two to four inches long, narrow and sharply pointed, carried by slender willowy boughs on a trunk perhaps 60 or /U feet high and several feet in diameter. The bark is thin, 'smooth and black and | the fruit are purple drupes nearly an inch in length. . Tho wood of the tawa has been used much more extensively than that of the tarairo. It is white, straight grained and hard, but rather brittle. In spite of this last fact it has been found very useful for a variety of purposes. A few years ago it was used quite a lot in the manufacture of tubs, casks and especially butter k«gs, .but this industry seems to have languished. The Maori's found several uses for tawa. Tho outer flesh of the fruit formed a minor item in their food

supply, and the timber was' used for making bird spears. These were sometimes as mtfch.as 36 feet long and Colenso tells lig- that only cwo spears were made from each tree, fins involved laborious chopping with 'stone tools and it often took two years to make a single spear.

An Erect Evergreen Mangeao, or tangeao, the third member of this family, is an erect evergreen tree restricted to the Auckland district. This tree is very slow growing and takes quite a long time to reach its full height of 30 or 40 feet, with a trunk up to two feet in diameter. Wlien growing iu the forest the trunk is long and clean and carries a very small head, but out in the open, where there is more room, a somewhat larger round head is produced. The delicate brownish green leaves, three or four inches long, show a variety of pleasing tints as they open out, and render this a very fine tree for ornamental purposes. The wood is white, tough and elastic and can be applied to many uses, but the supply is very limited and mangeao will never be an important timber in New Zealand. The fourth member is Lassvtha paniculata, a leafless, twining parasite which attaches itself to shrubs by means of small suckers. Its leaves are replaced j by scales and in the extreme North it i forms a dense tangle in many places, i No one would imagine from its appear- ! ance that it is a near relation of the ! fine forest trees just described.