FOREST TREES

Taranaki Daily News, 23 November 1929, Page 19 (Supplement)

FOREST TREES

CONSPICUOUS- REWAREWA TARAIRI AND TAWA. THE SYMMETRICAL MANGEAO. n

(By

E. Maxwell.—No. 8.)

Whilst most of our forest trees grow in general mixture of many species—in Jiact, such is typical of New Zealand forests —some few species are generally found growing in pure or almost pure stand; that is, some species largely predominate in, or entirely compose, large groups or, as in one kind, extensive forests. This one marked exception, that of the beeches, was referred to in last article, and in an earlier article reference was . made to the white pine (podocarpus dacrydioides) occurring in extensive pure. stands in semi-swamp lands of valleys and plains. Next to' these two come in degree of predominance the fewarewa, tarairi and tawa, in the order .given. The first-named, rewarewa or honeysuckle (knightia excelsa) is one of our most conspicuous trees. Besides being a handsome tree reaching to a height of 100 feet and a diameter of 4 feet, with a form of growth unusual to New Zea-' land trees —that of having the branches somewhat upright and compact, which but' for a considerable length of the lower, part of the trunk being bare would suggest the form of the cypress—the fact that it occurs in great numbers almost or entirely unmixed with other trees as a marginal or semi-marginal tree on level land, river flats or on hill slopes makes the honeysuckle, by which name it generally goes, ' all the more conspicuous and well-known. It belongs to the very large family of prof teaeeae, which, according to the late Mr. Cheesemiui, consists of about 50 genera and about 950 species, confined or almost confined to the Southern Hemisphere. The proteacea-e are very largely represented in Australia by both trees and shrubs, among which is the waratah. Here again is a marked instance of the lack ’ of association between the New Zealand and Australian vegetation, for while the latter country has so many of the family New Zealand has but two, both of which species are confined to this country. One of these species belongs to the genus persoonia and has for its specific name the Maori name torn. The genus persoonia has sixty species, all in and confined to Australia except one, the toru, which is confined to New Zealand. The other member of the proteaccae in New Zealand is the honeysuckle, one of three species of • the genus knightia, its specific name being exoelsa. , ■ Besides its conspicuous form, the honeysuckle has for a New Zealand tree an uncommon appearance, form and texture of leaf. The leaves are large, being from four to even twelve inches long, coarsely toothed, hard, rigid and heavy. The raceme's of dark-crimson flowers, I to inches long, the peduncles of which are densely clothed with brightred velvety tomentum, arc produced in great numbers, and the boat-shaped brown seed pods that follow are unusual ami remarkable. Like most of our timbers, except a few of the leading kinds, that of the honeysuckle has been much neglected, and immense quantities have been destroyed. Some little has been put to unsuitable purposes- such as fence rails. It is not durable where exposed to the weather. It is of a reddish or light brown colour and lias a very marked grain, much admired by some. When decayed to a certain degree if subjected to a twisting strain such as may occur when a tree is wrenched down by the force of a gale the wood will separate in a most peculiar manner, the whole thickness of the trunk being reduced to innumerable exceedingly thin broad ribbons, somewhat like the almost transparent strips that can be peeled off the lacebark, Unlike many of our forest trees, the honeysuckle seedlings will come up in . great numbers out of the hard soil of exposed outer margins of the forest, and they can readily be transferred to and grown in gardens and plantations.

TARAIRI AND TAWA.' The family lauraecae, of which there are 40 genera and about 1000 species, includes many well-known plants of economic value such as the cinnamon, sassafras, camphor laurel, etc. Of this family we have in New Zealand four species, one of which—Gassytha paniculate —is an insignificant parasitic plant, which iis found in Australia also. The other' three species, two ' beilschmedia and one litsaea, and all considerable sized forest tress confined to New Zealand. In the bestowal of specific names on . the two beilschmedias an unusual course has been followed.- Speaking from memory, in the nomenclature of New Zealand plants only in one instance has a Maori name been used as the generic name, that of hoheria; (Maori hohere) for the lacebarks or ribbon woods, and in only five cases for specific names— Brachyglottis Rafigiora, Eugenia Maire, Persoonia ‘Torn, and Beilscheindia Tafairi and B. Tawa. The case of the Maori generic name is explainable by the fact that, though- the family is ; large, the genus., hoheria is confined abeolutely to New Zealand. In the first case of Maori specific names, that of Brachyglottis Rangiora, the genus consists of two species only, both of which are confined to New Zealand. In the second case, Eugenia Maire, the genus, though a large and widely scattered one, is represented by only one species in New Zealand, which Is confined to it. The third case is that of Persoonia Toru, which plant has already been referred to and mentioned as the only species of the genus occurring in New Zealand and confined to thiu country. In the case of the Beilschmedias, though a large genus widely distributed, in the Southern Hemisphere, the two New Zealand species are confined to this country. The tarairi in a large tree reaching in extreme to a height of about 80 feet, with a diameter of 3 feet-. It is peculiar to the northern half of the North Island, very common, and frequently so predominating in many parts north of Auckland as almost to compose the entire forest. It i<s common in other places —but- not nearly so common as in the north—as far south as an approximate line from north of Kawhia to East Cape. The tarairi bears numbers of large (1| inches long) ovoid dark-purple berries, very similar, only broader, to those of the tawa.. Besides this difference in berry, the: leaves are very different from those of the tawa, being much larger and broader proportionately, - obtuse, thick and coarse.

The timber of the tarairi is light, close grained, easily worked and valuable for many purposes, but not durable when exposed to moisture. An in the ease of many others, the value of this timber has been overlooked. The tawa (Beilfichemedia Tawa) is also a fairly large forest tree of a height of 80 feet and over and a diameter of over 4 feet and, unlike the restricted limits of the tarairi, is common and most abundant throughout the North Island, and extends to northern portions of the South Island. In many of the forest areas of the hillier country it is frequently the predominant tree, and it occurs in numbers in nearly all the general mixed forests in good and poor ! land. It is a very beautiful tree in all stages of growth and; is essentially a forest tree, thriving best always in the environment of the fully stocked forest; consequently it does not adapt itself to the drier and more exposed conditioiifi of the garden or ornamental plantation. The tarairi is less dependj ent on conditions of the dense forest, and so a little less sensitive to the uncongenial conditions of garden or plantation than the tawa. The large plum-like dark-purple berries are produced in great quantities, and during their season are the chief food of the pigeon. They also were eaten by the Maoris, the fleshy part raw and the kernels after treatment. Next to the miros the tawas were the chief haunts where the pigeon could most easily be captured. The tawa is usually a much spreading, branched, densely foliaged tree, and the very narrow, very thin pale-green leaves give it a most graceful appearance. ' x ' The timber of the tawa is valuable, being white and clean looking, light in weight, straight in grain, easily worked and useful for many purposes where durability under exposure to moisture is not required. It is a very free, clear burner, though not a very heat-giving fuel, MANGEAO. The litsaeas, though scattered over the Southern Hemisphere and abundant in Australia, are represented by a single species in New Zealand, which is confined to this country. Mangeao or tangeao (Litsaea calicaris) is a very variable tree in form, reaching a height of 60 feet or more (the lat,e Mr. Cheeseman records it as only 30 to 40 feet), with a diameter of 2J or sometimes 3 feet. When grown in comparative freedom and during youth—say, up to 30 or 40 years or more—it forms a very symmetrical, wide-spreading, densely branched, and densely foliaged tree, With its branches reaching out close to the ground, the general form ■being pyramidal. The leaves are large, ovate, thin, soft and of a shiny lightgreen, at time almost yellow-green, and throughout the year give the whole tree a brilliant appearance. In this form it is one of our most attractive and handsome trees. When growing in denser bush and when old the trees lose, their symmetrical form and dense branching, and, though fine trees, are not so handsome or striking, having somewhat irregular stems with, high up, rather short heavy branches in somewhat unbeautiful masses.

The mangeao is confined to the North Island and to the northern half, reaching down the coast of Taranaki almost to New .Plymouth and on the East Coast to northern Hawkes Bay. It is a very common tree in the forest of the Uruwera country and the Mamaku, etc. The timber is valuable, though requiring special seasoning. It is tough, strong and elastic, and suitable for many purposes. The mangeao is easy of cultivation and thrives readily in gardens and plantations where there is reasonable shelter, and grows more rapidly than any other large native forest tree. It is a matter for surprise, that so handsome and attractive a tree, which thrives so readily and grows so rapidly, should be so seldom met with in ornamental grounds.