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Podocarpus totara
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Podocarpus totara
Podocarpus totara (/ˈtoʊtərə/), commonly known as the tōtara, is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. Found across New Zealand, the tree is can grow up to a height of 35 m (115 ft), and is known for its longevity.
The wood of tōtara is rot-resistant, and prized in Māori culture, and was often used as a material to create large-scale waka.
The tōtara is a medium to large tree, which grows slowly to around 20 to 25 metres (66 to 82 feet) exceptionally to 35 m (115 ft); it is noted for its longevity and the great girth of its trunk. The bark peels off in papery flakes, with a purplish to golden brown hue. The sharp, dull-green, needle-like leaves are stiff and leathery, 2 cm (0.79 in) long. This plant produces highly modified cones with two to four fused, fleshy, berry-like, juicy scales, bright red when mature. The cone contains one or two rounded seeds at the apex of the scales.
The largest known living tōtara, the Pouakani Tree, near Pureora in the central North Island, is over 35 m (115 ft) tall and nearly 4 m (13 ft) in trunk diameter at breast height. Bushmen discovered it in 1950. Other large trees are known in this area, while Whirinaki Forest, to the east, but also on deep recent volcanic soils, has groves of very tall tōtara (over 40 m (130 ft) in height).
The first informal description of Podocarpus totara was by Australian naturalist George Bennett in 1832, published as an appendix to Aylmer Bourke Lambert's third edition second volume of A Description of the Genus Pinus. When the species was formally described by David Don, he used Bennett's binomial name.
The two varieties of tōtara are:
Podocarpus totara var. waihoensis, also known as the Westland tōtara, is a variety found in the West Coast Region of the South Island, approximately south from the Waiho River. The variety is not recognised by some authors, and it may potentially be a hybrid of Podocarpus totara and Podocarpus acutifolius.
Its Māori name comes from the Proto-Polynesian word *tootara (related to the word tara lit. 'thorn') which when passed down to descendant languages refer to spiny creatures, especially the porcupinefish (Diodon hystrix) due to its spiky leaves. The species epithet totara comes from the Māori language name. The spelling "totara" without the tohutō is also common in English.[citation needed]
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Podocarpus totara
Podocarpus totara (/ˈtoʊtərə/), commonly known as the tōtara, is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. Found across New Zealand, the tree is can grow up to a height of 35 m (115 ft), and is known for its longevity.
The wood of tōtara is rot-resistant, and prized in Māori culture, and was often used as a material to create large-scale waka.
The tōtara is a medium to large tree, which grows slowly to around 20 to 25 metres (66 to 82 feet) exceptionally to 35 m (115 ft); it is noted for its longevity and the great girth of its trunk. The bark peels off in papery flakes, with a purplish to golden brown hue. The sharp, dull-green, needle-like leaves are stiff and leathery, 2 cm (0.79 in) long. This plant produces highly modified cones with two to four fused, fleshy, berry-like, juicy scales, bright red when mature. The cone contains one or two rounded seeds at the apex of the scales.
The largest known living tōtara, the Pouakani Tree, near Pureora in the central North Island, is over 35 m (115 ft) tall and nearly 4 m (13 ft) in trunk diameter at breast height. Bushmen discovered it in 1950. Other large trees are known in this area, while Whirinaki Forest, to the east, but also on deep recent volcanic soils, has groves of very tall tōtara (over 40 m (130 ft) in height).
The first informal description of Podocarpus totara was by Australian naturalist George Bennett in 1832, published as an appendix to Aylmer Bourke Lambert's third edition second volume of A Description of the Genus Pinus. When the species was formally described by David Don, he used Bennett's binomial name.
The two varieties of tōtara are:
Podocarpus totara var. waihoensis, also known as the Westland tōtara, is a variety found in the West Coast Region of the South Island, approximately south from the Waiho River. The variety is not recognised by some authors, and it may potentially be a hybrid of Podocarpus totara and Podocarpus acutifolius.
Its Māori name comes from the Proto-Polynesian word *tootara (related to the word tara lit. 'thorn') which when passed down to descendant languages refer to spiny creatures, especially the porcupinefish (Diodon hystrix) due to its spiky leaves. The species epithet totara comes from the Māori language name. The spelling "totara" without the tohutō is also common in English.[citation needed]
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