FOREST TREES

Taranaki Daily News, 18 January 1930, Page 2 (Supplement)

FOREST TREES

BEAUTIFUL MAKAMAKA THE FAMILIAR TAWHERO. THE LIME-TREE FAMILY. (By E. Maxwell. —No. XIV.) Though there are no other trees, beyond those dealt with in the last article, classified as Saxifragaceae, there are three more that used to bo so classified and in many respects bear considerable resemblance to the Saxifrangaceae family. They are the two tawheros (Weinniannias) and makamaka (Ackama rosaefolia), which are now classified as belonging to the Cunoniaecac family. - MANAMA KA (ACKAMA). Ackama rosaefolia is quite one of the most, if not the most, beautiful and distinctive of our lesser trees. .1 he tine is most graceful mid it is most appropriately named rosaefolia, for the leaves are like most beautiful pale-green, soft, delicate, long, rose leaves. They are up to n inches in length mid have as many as eight pairs of leaflets up to three inches long. Whilst pale-green on the. upper surface, they arc of jmrplish tint underneath. Tho flowers are a creamy colour and, though individually minute, m produced in large, loose, feathery, much-branched panicles from the terminals of the branclictf mid axiles of the leaves. It is a most beautiful plant, especially when the size of a large shrub, and it is surprising that'such a treasure should so rarely be seen under cultivation, to which it readily adapts itself. Though usually quite a small tree, it grows in extreme to - a height of over 49 ieet and tw> feet in diameter. Tho rosaefolia is confined to New Zealand and there are only two other species belonging to the genus elsewhere. It is restricted to the northern portion df the North Island and is not common. It is frost tender, though not to a great degree, and can easily be grown far south of its natural limits if placed under the shelter of other trees. TAWHEROS. There are two Tawheros (Weinmannia raeemosa and W. sylvieolor), but they have other names. The first is known as tawhero, towai and kamahi, and the other seldom as tawhero, but generally as kamahi or towai. The first, tawhero, is one of the most, if not the most, common of all our trees throughout the North, South and Stewart Islands, mid is general from the sea coast right inland, though most common on river banks and on the poorer lands of the higher country. It varies from a somewhat bushy small tree, when growing in the semi-open or forest margins, to a large, though often many-stemmed, tree up to 89 feet in height and four feet' in diameter when growing in the tall forest. The leaves of the young plants are three to live foliate and are a fresh green, making tho seedlings and young plants exceedingly pretty. Tho mature leaves are simple, coarsely serrated, hard and dark-green. The flowers are white, prodr ed in long single or .clusters of two or three racemes at the terminals of the branchlets, and arc somewhat like those of tho Lilac (Quintinia), though not so handsome. The bushy young trees on river banks and on forest margins when in flower—tho flowers come in great profusion—are quite a feature. KAMAHI. Weinmannia sylvieolor, generally know as kamahi, is confined to New Zealand and to the northern half of the North Island, reaching as far south as Taupo. It is usually a considerably lesser tree than the tawhero, but on occasions attains a height of 70 feet. It is in many respects similar to the tawhero, but is easily distinguished by its mature leaves bearing from one to several pairs of leaflets instead of being simple, as is tho case with the mature leaves of the Tawhero. The flowers are white or pale rose, and the tree is more attractive.than tlie tawhero and should never be omitted from an ornamental shrubbery. It is not quite so easily transplanted as the tawhero. THE LIME-TREE FAMILY. There is a group of trees which have been placed as belonging to the limctreo family — Tiliaccae — 'but now five species are classified.as belonging to the Elaeocarpaccae and one to the Tiliaccae. BINAU AND POKAKA. Tho Elaeocarpaccae family is a small ono of about eight genera and some 120, species. Tho family is represented in New Zealand by two genera and five species. Though the genera have a wide range, the New Zealand species are confined to this country. The Binau — Elasocarpus dentata — though not ono of the larger forest trees, is of quite considerable size, reaching

GO feet in height and three feet or even more in diameter. When young it is usually a straight grown, smooth barked, slender branched, somewhat compact symmetrical tree, but as an old tree it is generally very widespread, dense, heavy limbed, and rough barked. The branchlets are bare of leaves to close up towards the tips. It has been called the “lily-of-the-valley tree” because of its beautiful white bell-shaped drooping Howers, which are half an inch wide and very conspicuous, and are borne in great profusion in early summer, and warrant the hinau being ranked as one of our most beautiful flowering trees. The fruit is produced in great quantity, and forms a considerable quota, of the food of native birds and wild pigs. It was used by the Maoris, after treatment, for food, and they also extracted dye from the bark. Much of the timber is exceedingly valuable for fencing posts, house blocks, etc., because of its great durability and its extreme fire-resisting quality, but though botanically the .same, the timber of different trees varies greatly, and the only sure method of selecting the highly durable kind from the much less so is by choosing from logs that have been felled many years. Such of these as show no sign of decay of the hard wood after, say, ten to fifteen years can bo relied upon to last a life-time. The Hinau is distributed throughout the lowlands am! lower hill country of both islands, and is fairly common in many parts, but was especially so in the Wellington district and in paiffs of Taranaki. It grows rapidly whilst young, but much more slowly later. It’grows very readily under cultivation. POKAKA, Pokaka, or narrow leafed hinau — Elaeocarpus Hovkerianus — is a lesser tree than the Hinau, sometimes reaching 50 feet in height and three feet in diameter. The tree is more symmetrical, distinctly less heavily limbed, and the leaves are more distributed--not confined to tho tips of the branchlets —they are narrower and distinctly lanceolate and more serrate. Tho flowers, which arc smaller, are greenish white, produced on slender laconics and more erect and less conspicuous than those of the hinau. The pokaka, though found in all three islands and fairly common in parts, is distinctly local, usually more abundant in the inland forests, and reaches an elevation of over 3000 feet. The pokaka varies much in form of growth in different localities, and is a very interesting tree for that reason and for extraordinary variation in form and size- of leaf.

A good many New Zealand trees and shrubs have very markedly different forms of growth and still more distinct forms of leaves in various stages of development before they reach their mature forms. Amongst the most noticeable examples are tho pokaka, kaikohoroeka (lancewood), yellow pine and hohere (lacebark). The pokaka is quite tho most remarkable. The young plants are sometimes fairly erect, but frequently are a semi-prostrato mass of interlaced branches, suggestive of some of the small leaved coprosmas, very sparsely or sometimes fairly clothed with minute leaves of every form imaginable — round, square, oblong, oval, narrow sticks, simple, or deeply and irregularly toothed. In colour they range from dark green, almost black, and copper to bright red. As time goes on, running into years, tho leaves gradually become larger, but still much indented, ai . later the leaves are simple, lanceolate*, rather keeled and serrate, bearing not the very slightest resemblance to tlie earlier forms. For quite a number of years plants will retain the juvenile form of leaves on the lower parts whilst all the upper parts have the mature form. The timber of the pokaka has been used to some extent, for special purposes, in the South, but it is not of much value and of no durability. MAKOMAKO. The other genus, aristotelia, of the Elr.sochapaceae which is represented in New Zealand also has representatives in Australia, New Hebrides, and South America, The ihrec species occurring in New Zealand are confined to it, None of them ranks as largo forest trees. One — A. fruticosa —is only a small shrub of no beauty, but of peculiar and variable form. The most important one is the makomako, or wineberry — Aristotelia raceraosa —which in extreme a height .of over 50 feet and a diameter up to nearly two feet. It is common throughout lowland forests in all three islands, and extends from sea level to nearly SOOO feet. It assumes its most handsome form and finest proportions on Mayor Island, in the Bay of Plenty. It appears much on forest margins and as a icgrowtli in clearings. In situations such as tho latter it is. usually Very crowded and not noticeable, but' when growing as an independent free it has a straight central stem and spreading symmetrical head and is quite a handsome tree, with large, deeply seriated, thin leaves, reddish on the under surface. The flowers are borne in great numbers on slender panicles and are of most varied colour, from cream through pink to wine and rose, and are very dainty and remarkable. WHAU. The wliau or Maori cork-wood —Entelea arborescens—the only species now classified under the family Tiliaccae (lime tree) is a single species of a single genus confined to New Zealand, and is one of the most conspicuous and handsome 1 of our smaller trees or shrubs, but certainly does not come under tlie heading of forest trees. It is common in coastal areas from the Oakura River, south of New Plymouth, right northwards, and in practically all the islands in the north, where it attains its greatest luxuriance. It occurs, but very locally and rarely, southward, including Nelson and Marlborough districts.

The wliau is an extremely handsome shrub or small, wide-spreading tree, reaching about 25 feet in height. It is very large—sometimes as much as a foot across — soft, fresh, lightgrccn leaves much resemble those of the Sparmannia, to which it is closely allied. All the wood, whether a stem or branches, is very light in weight and pithy, and was much used by the Maoris as floats, and thus tho name Maori corkwood.

The flowers, which are large, white or greeny white, are produced in early summer in great profusion in large cymes at or near the terminals of tho branchlets, and are later followed by similar clusters of large, brown, burr-like capsules.

The wliau is almost the easiest of all our New Zealand plants to grow under cultivation, so long as not subjected to frost. It can be grown from cuttings from any part and size, even pieces of tho thick stem, if placed in damp peaty soil, and will grow seven or eight feet or more in a season.