New Zealand’s Endemic Kauri trees are some of the largest and oldest trees in the world!

Is kauri only in NZ?

Kauri are naturally found throughout the upper North Island, in the Northland, Auckland and Waikato regions, and in parts of the Bay of Plenty. If you’re in natural bush and you’re in the upper North Island, it’s likely you’ll be near a kauri. Kauri have existed as a species for around 20 million years.

Are kauri trees native to Australia?

If time is our measure, then the kauri family, Agathis, has endured over epochs, with fossils found in Australia from the early to mid-Jurassic period. Having withstood the rise and fall of the dinosaurs and the evolution and diversification of our flora, 17 species of living fossil trees in the Agathis family remain.

Where are kauri trees native to?

Kauri naturally grow in forests throughout northern New Zealand (north of Kawhia and just south of Tauranga). They are generally found from sea level to 700 metres. Fossil evidence shows that it once grew as far south as Invercargill.

What is the oldest tree in New Zealand?

Tāne Mahuta, also called “God of the Forest”, is a giant kauri tree (Agathis australis) in the Waipoua Forest of Northland Region, New Zealand. Its age is unknown but is estimated to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years.

What did Māori use kauri for?

Maori used kauri timber for boat building, carving and building houses. The gum was used as a fire starter and for chewing (after it had been soaked in water and mixed with the milk of the puha plant).

Can you cut down kauri trees?

Ms Charlesworth said that while many kauri dense areas are covered by the SEA (significant ecological area) plan, which was introduced after blanket tree protection was lifted in 2012, even those trees can be cut down.

Is kahikatea native to NZ?

Kahikatea is a native softwood, favoured for amenity and wetland restoration. It is found throughout New Zealand, tolerates cold and grows to altitudes of 600-700 m but is most commonly found in wet lowland forests. It once grew widely in North Island swamps and river flats, until these were cleared for farmland.

Is kauri a hardwood NZ?

New Zealand kauri | The Wood Database – Lumber Identification (Softwood)

Is NZ kauri a hardwood or softwood?

“Softwoods” are sometimes called needle-leaved trees, conifers or gymnosperms. These include cypress, macrocarpa, redwood, cedar, totara, rimu and kauri.

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Which tree is found only in New Zealand in the World?

Agathis australis, commonly known by its Māori name kauri (pronounced “Ko-ree”), is a coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae, found north of 38°S in the northern regions of New Zealand’s North Island.

How do you pronounce kauri in Māori?

Pronounce it like “co-ree” in English, or click here to hear it spoken. Kauri is a staple part of to our New Zealand way of life.

Is Kauri a Podocarp?

Conifers in New Zealand New Zealand’s 20 native conifers are found nowhere else. They belong to four families: the araucarian family, Araucariaceae – New Zealand’s sole member is kauri (Agathis australis) … the podocarp family, Podocarpaceae – the largest conifer family in New Zealand, with seven genera and 14 species.

How old is Matua Ngahere?

About Te Matua Ngahere ‘Te Matua Ngahere’ (Father of the Forest) is the second largest living kauri tree in New Zealand. He is also noted as being the oldest out of the two largest living kauri trees and is estimated to exceed 2,000 years.

Does Tāne Mahuta have kauri dieback?

It is now confirmed that the kauri dieback disease has been found in close proximity to the forests’ senior resident, Tāne Mahuta. The gates are locked with barriers blocking the well trodden walkways to the kauri in Waipoua forest.

What is New Zealand's only native land mammal?

Our only native mammals are bats and marine mammals.

Is it illegal to cut down pohutukawa?

Pōhutukawa are native to New Zealand and in many parts of the country, they may be protected and therefore require special permission to remove – even to simply prune.

Are Puriri trees protected in NZ?

Currently, there are several species of trees that are protected in Auckland, which include the puriri, Norfolk pine, kauri, totara and pohutukawa. … The tree can survive on rocky cliffs where few others can gain a hold.

Is it illegal to cut down cabbage trees in NZ?

Department of Conservation principal policy analyst Paula Warren says there is no statute giving legal protection for cabbage trees in New Zealand, despite popular perceptions. Regional authority Environment Canterbury also states on its website “cabbage trees are not a protected plant therefore they can be cut down”.

What's the Maori name for dog?

kurī 1. (noun) dog, animal with four legs, quadruped.

Why are kauri trees protected?

There are some trees like the coastal Pohutukawa that are protected because they preserve the ecosystem and prevent erosion. Other species in the protected list are the Kauri tree, the Totara tree, the Puriri tree and the Norfolk Pine. … If this is the last tree in New Zealand of this specie, you can bet it’s protected.

What is kauri gum good for?

Māori uses Māori called kauri gum kāpia. They chewed it like chewing gum. They used gum to start fires, because it burns easily. They mixed the soot from burnt gum with oil or fat, and used it in moko (facial tattoos).

What is matai wood?

Matai has been the premier flooring timber in New Zealand for over 100 years. … The heart timber is orange, deep yellow or sometimes a deep red. The sapwood a creamy or mustard colour. When both heart and sap occur together it is called Colour, and sometimes referred to as ‘flame’ Matai.

What is the hardest wood in New Zealand?

Black maire is hard (probably New Zealand’s hardest wood) heavy and strong, and mature black maire is extremely durable. As a result it was used by early European settlers as a substitute for lignum vitae for bearings and pulley blocks.

How much is swamp kauri worth?

It’s been at the centre of court battles, accusations of illegal trading, a violent attack still unsolved, and sleight-of-hand exports. At its peak, the swamp kauri trade was worth $200 million a year. Some property owners have saved their farms from ruin by the fortuitous discovery of a slab or a stump.

Is kahikatea a pine?

Stand of kahikatea (Podocarpus dacrydioides). This pine was formerly the most beautiful tree of lowland swampy forests throughout the country; but the stopbanking of rivers and the draining and conversion of swamps to pastures have caused the forests of kahikatea largely to disappear except on the West Coast.

Are kahikatea berries edible?

Kahikatea berries (1st of 4) The edible berries of the kahikatea tree were known as koroī.

Why does New Zealand have wool?

This is why New Zealand is amongst the leading producers in the wool industry. The wool is whiter than other wools, and the significant color depth allows further colors to be dyed like clean pastel shades and deeper blacks. New Zealand wool is 100% natural and renewable with each sheep growing a new fleece every year.

How can you tell swamp kauri?

1. Resin canals: absent.
2. Tracheid diameter: medium.
3. Earlywood to latewood transition: gradual.
4. Grain contrast: low.
5. Parenchyma: none; contains resinous tracheids (resin plugs) with dark reddish-brown contents which look nearly identical to diffuse parenchyma.

Is Manuka a hardwood?

Like most other hardwoods, manuka does not grow straight, and it is much given to warping and cracking; but I do not know that it inherits these defects to a greater extent than is done by jarrah, ironbark, and other Australian timbers of the same class, and it is freer from heart shakes and knots.

What is New Zealands animal?

The national animal is the native kiwi bird. This cute, flightless bird is so strongly associated with New Zealand that the term kiwi is often used to refer to people who are natives. Kiwis are considered vulnerable in terms of conservation due to the invasion of non-native predator mammals as well as deforestation.