Height

Up to 20m.

Location

Found all over New Zealand but prefer wet, open areas such as swamps.

Description

Fragrant white flowers on 90cm long spikes in early summer. Birds love the bluish white berries.

Traditional usage

Food, fibre and medicine. The inner blanched leaves and tender heart were eaten raw or cooked by Māori and early settlers. Leaves were woven into many useful items including baskets, sandals, rope.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Treatment of cuts.
• Cure for diarrhoea and dysentry.
• Increased milk of nursing mothers.
• Relief for babies with colic.

Other usage

Early European settlers used the fire-resistant trunks for chimneys.

Height

Up to 6m.

Location

Found in coastal and lowland forests in the North Island and northern parts of South Island. Prefer a semi-shade to shade position and moist free draining soil.

Description

An aromatic shrub common in shady areas. Seeds are enjoyed by birds in late summer and are spread by them.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Leaf and bark were used to heal cuts, wounds, skin complaints.
• Relief for tooth ache.
• Cure for boils.
• A general tonic for well-being.

Other usage

The leaves when burned near crops, give off acrid smoke which can deter most insect pests. The name 'kawakawa' refers to the bitter taste of the leaves.

Height

Up to 15m.

Location

Found from Kaitaia in the North Island to around Queen Charlotte Sound in the South Island.

Description

Long drooping panicles of greenish-white flowers sprout from the trunk and branches in early winter. Large areas of coastal and lowland kohekohe have been removed for urban development and others have been damaged by possums. Nectar feeding birds like Tūi, Korimako / bellbirds, Hihi /stitchbird and Tauhou/ silvereyes feed on the flowers and the fruits are eaten by birds including kererū and kōkako.

Traditional usage

Used by Māori for river canoes when large enough trees could be found.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

A remedy for coughs, colds, fevers, sore throats, blood disorders.

Height

Up to 40m.

Location

Found in lowland areas of the North and South Islands on fertile, well drained soils.

Description

Long lived lofty forest trees. The oldest remaining tree is 1800 years old. Young trees are bushy with thick green foliage. As the tree matures, the trunk becomes thicker, and the foliage more open. The leaves are small and slender with sharp pointed ends. Seeds are widely dispersed by birds. Small summer fruit are bright red when ripe and edible by birds and humans.

Traditional usage

An important timber tree for both Māori and Europeans, valued highly for building, carving and canoes.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Treatment for skin problems.
• Splints for broken bones (using the outer bark).
• Reduce fever.

Height

Up to 1m.

Location

Found naturally only on Poor Knights Island off New Zealand's Northland coast under conditions of extreme exposure. In late spring it bears 90cm long stems of magnificent bottlebrush-like red flowers. This plant is considered at Risk.

Traditional usage

Like other raupō, leaves lashed together for rooves and sails and for weaving.

Height

Up to 4m.

Description

Raupō is a wetland plant. The erect, slightly fleshy, strap-shaped leaves grow up to 2m long and each is about 2 - 3 cm wide. Flower spikes are velvety brown cylindrical clusters of tightly packed flowers.

Height

Up to 12m.

Location

Found across NZ kowhai are frost hardy, tolerate moderate winds and are drought tolerant but don't like hard or waterlogged soils.

Description

The kōwhai tree is one of the most vibrant and attractive of New Zealand's native trees. Trees are covered with nectar-filled golden drooping yellow flowers in spring. Very attractive to nectar feeding native birds particularly Tūīs.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Treatment for skin problems (eg scabies).
• Healing wounds.
• A cure for gonorrhoea.
• Relief for colds/sore throats.

Height

Up to 10m.

Location

Found mostly in coastal to lowland forest in warmer parts of Aotearoa.

Description

The most southern naturally growing palm in the world and NZ's only native palm species. Detached leaf bases are large enough for a child to sit in. Sprouts large clusters of mauve flowers throughout the year which are sticky and sweet with nectar and attract insects and birds particularly Kererū and Kāa.

Traditional usage

Māori traditionally used the leaves to thatch houses, wrap food before cooking and weave into hats, mats and baskets. The outer trunk was made into containers. Hard berries could be eaten when green or made into necklaces. The young flower could also be eaten. The central shoot was eaten as a green vegetable on Cook's first voyage.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

A muscle relaxant

Height

Up to 3m.

Location

Abundant naturally in coastal and lowland swamps.

Description

Unique to NZ, flax provides food and shelter for a large community of birds, insects and bats. Nectar-filled bronze red flowers on 5m stems are attractive to nectar loving birds.

Traditional usage

Leaf fibre useful for dressing wounds and napkins for babies. Economically important, it was cultivated for fibre and widely used by the Māori for weaving into clothing, matting, baskets and sandals.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Using leaves as splints for broken bones.
• Heating leaves and using the gum to treat swollen joints , wounds, burns and cuts.
• Using the roots to help with stomach problems, colds and headaches.

Other usage

Flax is still used today is soaps, hand creams, shampoos and cosmetics.

Height

Up to 60m.

Location

An evergreen conifer, Kahikatea grows throughout NZ from sea-level to 750metres. It is most common near rivers and in swampy area.

Description

A long lived very large tree, kahikatea can live up to 600 years. They produce large quantities of fruit around 6mm long with a small black seed developing on top of a reddish orange fleshy pod. The fruit is a favourite of wood pigeons and is also edible by humans. The timber carves well but rots easily.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

Medicinal uses Boiling leaves and applying to wounds and bruises and help with urinary complaints.

Height

Between 25 - 35m.

Location

Found abundantly across New Zealand.

Description

An evergreen conifer which when juvenile, the tree forms dense light green foliage in a conical shape. As the tree matures, the foliage darkens and the tree becomes less organised and loses its lower branches. The foliage is identified by the long branchlets which hang down 15 cm. The leaves are very small and scale like. The bark peels off in elongated flakes. The rimu forms similar seeds to the tōtara and kaihikatea and are eaten by birds. The heart wood is deep red in colour and often used for decorative purposes.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Gum mixed with water used for stomach aches.
• Pounded bark used for ulcers, bruises and burns.

Height

Growing over 50m.

Description

The Kauri is one of the mightiest trees in the world growing very tall and living to be very old. Tane Mahuta in the Waipoua Forest 51m high and 2100 years old.

Kauri forests grow north of Tauranga. In its young stages, kauri is a slender tree, with open branches. As it grows, it becomes densely bushed with dark green foliage and forms a conical shape, this is called a ricker. When the tree matures into its final stage, the trunk enlarges and the branches become massive and more open again. The leaves are approximately 5cm long, slender, and green. Older leaves on young plants become bronze coloured. The tree's wood is highly decorative and easy to work. It was traditionally used for boat building, carving and building houses. The bark is a light grey and oval shaped pieces peel off frequently.

When damaged, the trees produce a thick whitish gold resin. This is known as kauri gum and it was once a valuable resource and mined from swamps where kauri forests had lived. Māori uses for kauri gum includes, chewing gum, to start fires because it burns easily and In moko (facial tattoos) by mixing the soot from burnt gum with oil or fat.

The gum was also exported during the 19th century to Britain and North America to make varnish. 90% of Kauri were cut down in the 19th century for export as boat and building contruction. Kauri are now threatened by kauri die back disease. This damages the trees root systems making it hard for the trees to take food and water from the soil. There is no known cure. We can help reduce the diseases spread by avoiding any movement of soil around the roots of trees. Look at how the Kauri trees in Waiatarua are fenced off to stop people walking around the roots.

Height

Up to 8m.

Location

Found throughout New Zealand in forests and scrub.

Description

The leaves are 15 - 20cm long and 5 to 7 branch out from a central focus. The tree produces red/pink and white sweet scented flowers and from June to September followed by purple fruit through to February.

Height

Up to 8m.

Location

Found in coastal to lowland forest.

Description

The Whau has white flowers that become spiky seed pods.

Traditional usage

Whau wood is highly buoyant and was historically used by Māori to make fishing pōito (floats) and kārewa (buoys).

Height

Up to 18m.

Location

Hīnau occur throughout new Zealand in coastal and lowland forest.

Description

Leaves are dark green with a toothed edge and are 12cm long and 2-3cm wide. The flowers are cream white and droop from small branches.

Traditional usage

The fruit is purple and contains a kernel used by the Maori to make bread. The Hīnau has many useful properties: flowers, interesting fruit, bark for fixing dyes, medicinal uses, good timber and fire-retardant properties, and also produce food for people, rats, pigs, birds and possums.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Treating skin diseases and some stomach problems.
• For its sedative properties.

Other usage

The timber is both light and tough, resistant to splitting, and good for wedges, flooring, and furniture.

Height

Up to 8m.

Description

A graceful forest tree which is fast growing. It thrives on forest margins or disturbed sites. The lace bark is so named for the lace pattern formed on the inner layers of bark. The leaves are up to 14cm long and 6cm wide with serrations on the edges. In autumn the tree produces many showy white flowers in clusters which are strongly scented.

Traditional usage

Māori also used the inner bark to wrap around a newborn baby, for fine, decorative weaving on kete, headbands, and trim on hats and cloaks. The outer bark can be twisted and plaited into ropes.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Soaking the bark for several days to make a thick jelly used for soothing weak or tired eyes.
• Making an infusion of the inner bark for burned skin

Height

Up to 15m.

Description

The leaves are glossy dark green. The orange yellow fruit are very attractive and eaten by Kererū but poisonous to dogs and humans unless prepared very carefully.

Height

Up to 6m.

Location

widely found in forests and forest margins throughout New Zealand.

Description

Karamu is an extremely hardy large bushy shrub with branches that are stout with no hair. The glossy dark green leaves of karamu range from 5 to 12 cms.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Treat colds.
• Treat stomach ache.

Height

Up to 8m.

Location

Widespread throughout NZ.

Description

Small evergreen tree reaching with small round pale green shiny wavy thin leaves and 12mm wide capsules that split into two or three to show the black sticky seeds. Flowers are small and usually dark or purple although may occasionally be creamy yellow or red and their scent is released at night.

Traditional usage

Resin and oil were extracted from leaves and bark to make a scented oil.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Mixing the resin with other gums and chewed as a cure for bad breath and sores in the mouth
• Using crushed leaves to make a poultice for skin diseases

Height

Up to 14m.

Location

It is found throughout New Zealand and as far south as the Auckland Islands.

Description

New Zealand's native fuchsia is the largest fuchsia in the world. It is a deciduous tree and is recognised by brownish orange papery bark that peels off. The leaves are pointed and up to 4cm long. Flowers hang down and are reddish purple when mature and around 3cm long.

Other usage

Kōtukutuku is one of the possum's preferred food sources, and they will browse individual trees to the point of defoliation after which the trees will die. The small dark purple berry is sweet and juicy. It was favoured by Māori and it was also eaten by European settlers in jams and puddings.

Height

Up to 4m.

Location

This small shrub is found throughout the north island north of the Bay of Plenty and it grows extensively in what were once the gum fields of the North Island.

Description

It has oval leaves of a medium size, being about 6cm long by 3cm wide. It produces flowers from September to November of dense clusters of very small flowers, 8mm across and a deep yellow in colour. Known as gumdigger's soap owing to the lather created when the flowers were rubbed with water.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

Infusion of leaves to treat colds, coughs, asthma, wounds and skin disorders.

Height

Up to 10m.

Location

Makomako is found throughout the South Island of New Zealand and lower North Island. It is also found in Stewart Island. It is common in moist forest and scrub land within the lowland, montane, and subalpine climates.

Description

It is plentiful in regenerating forest and damp river margins. The young branches of red bark turn black with age. It has clusters of attractive rose-pink flowers in spring, followed by red or black edible berries in summer.

Traditional usage

A plant that produced a very diverse range of goods: lightweight bird spears, net floats, soothing medications to treat sore eyes, burns or rheumatism; jams, jellies, wine. Māori children used to feast on the berries, which were also squeezed and strained to make a sweet drink.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Infusions from the bark and leaves were used to treat a burn, boils, sore eyes and rheumatic pains.
• Internal and topical treatment for painful rheumatism.
• Leaves were steeped in hot baths for arthritis and rheumatism general tonic for skin problems.

Height

Up to 30m.

Location

Miro is found throughout New Zealand, being found wherever rimu grows and is most common on the West Coast. Miro is found on most soil types but does not do well on waterlogged or droughty sites.

Description

The bark is thick and grey and falls in thick, sinuous flakes. Leaves feathery, dark green, green to bronze-green, It is a very important biodiversity species which seeds almost every year and provides important food for several important bird species including the Kererū. The bright green to bronze-green, feathery foliage, and pink-red, to red plum-like drupes are quite unlike any other New Zealand conifer.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Gum warmed and inhaled for bronchitis and sore throats.
• Gum used to heal ulcers and stop bleeding.

Height

Up to 20m.

Description

The pōhutukawa is a massive spreading tree often seen along the coast in the north island. The tree is often as wide at least as it is high and can be up to 50m wide. The leaves are around 10cm long and 3cm wide. The pōhutukawa produces a mass of flowers in December and January. The flowers consist of long crimson red stamens branching from a greenish yellow cup which produces nectar and are found in clusters on the tree. The wood is a rich reddish brown in colour, heavy, compact and of great strength. The major problem with the timber is that the growth habit of the tree makes it almost impossible to obtain long, straight pieces.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Liquid of boiled bark for symptoms of dysentery and diarrhoea and applied to wounds.
• Nectar taken to relieve sore throats.

Height

Up to 20m.

Location

Puriri is a coastal and lowland tree, found from the far north to about latitude 39° 30' - Opunaki on the west coast and Mahia Peninsula on the east. It is common on volcanic and similar soils and more scattered elsewhere.

Description

The leaves are 5-13cm long and 3-5cm wide with an oval shape and a thick glossy cuticle on the upper surface. The tree produces small pink flowers 2-3cm in diameter. The bright red fruit, 2cm across, and the flowers are a staple food of the kererū.

Pūriri's greatest problem is that it is very prone to attack by the pūriri moth , NZ's largest moth with a wingspan of up to 150mm. The moth which drills a “7” shaped tunnel, about 140 mm long and 18 mm diameter into the trunk.

Traditional usage

The pūriri tree has useful hardwood that was used to make spades, bridges, paddles, weapons, fences and other items that required sturdinessIt is reputedly the best fence post timber in New Zealand.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

leaves used to make a liquid for bathing sprains, backache and ulcers or drunk for sore throats.

Height

Varies according to species. Northern rātā grows up to 40m with a 3m diameter.

Description

Rata usually germinate on an existing tree as an epiphite and send their roots down to the ground. It then sends down more and more roots to the ground, eventually surrounding the host tree, transforming itself into a tall tree with a massive, usually hollow trunk. The tree can also grow up from the ground itself, but if it does so, it usually forms a smaller, stunted tree. The tree erupts in December and January in crimson flowers similar to those of a Pohutukawa and birds, insects, lizards and bats the birds love the nectar they find in the flowers. The fruit is a dry capsule containing hundreds of tiny seeds. The seeds need light and germinate in open sites.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Making a lotion or poultice from bark for Treatment of skin diseases, sore muscles, joints and broken bones.
• Using the nectar for sore throats.
• Using chewed leaves for toothache.

Height

Up to 30m.

Location

An evergreen tree common in regenerating forest of the North Island and Marlborough Sounds in coastal, lowland and lower montane shrubland and areas of secondary regrowth.

Description

It has a slender crown and long dark green serrated adult leaves up to 15cm long and 4cm wide. The flowers are formed in clusters and have bright red stamens with yellow pollen emerging from coiled petals. Winged seeds are wind dispersed. Rewarewa wood is instantly recognisable because of its pale to dark reddish colour and attractive flecked appearance, often seen in rulers made of inlaid native timber in tourist shops.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

Bark bandaged over a wound to stop bleeding and speed its healing.

Height

Usually 10m, but can grow up to 20m.

Location

A widespread coastal to lowland forest tree. Often favouring well drained, fertile, riverbanks and associated terraces. It is also a major component of coastal forests. It is a common offshore island tree within the Hauraki Gulf.

Description

The large fruits are bird dispersed. Tītoki has 5-10cm long oval shaped, oily leaves about 4cm wide. The flowers are very small, around 3-4mm in diameter, and produce a black seed enclosed in red flesh.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

• Oil extracted for seed used as a general remedy for many ailments including wounds, bruises, sprains.
• Liquid from boiled leaves used as insect repellent.

Height

Up to 12m.

Location

Found in Three Kings, North and South Islands.

Description

A common small tree. Leaves are dark green, glossy, oval, with toothed margins, in pairs on short stalks from a flattened part of the dark twigs. Flowers simple, green, around 1cm wide, arranged in small sprays. Fruit orange, oval, about 1cm long.

The plant received its common name back when it was assumed that the New Zealand wood pigeon particularly favoured them, based on observations of the birds eating the fruit. It has since been discovered that the Kererū New Zealand wood pigeon does not prefer these berries, and tends to eat them as a 'famine food' when better fare is not available.

Rongoā - traditional Māori medicinal usage

Medicinal vapour bath.

Height

Up to 30m.

Location

Major canopy dominant in the lowland and lower montane forests of the North Island and northern South island.

Description

It is a large canopy treee with a tall dark single trunk. Leaves thin, narrow, gradually tapering to base and the pointed tip, yellowish when young, when mature drooping, glossy, pale underneath. Flowers in yellowish sprays. Fruit very large, dark purple, glossy, containing a large elliptical seed. awa produce small inconspicuous flowers followed by 2-3.5 cm long purple fruit . (The Māori word for purple is tawa.) With such large fruits, tawa is notable for the fact that it relies solely on the kererū and (where present) the North Island kokako for dispersal of its seed.

Height

Up to 22m.

Description

This large tree bears purple fruit which are favoured by Kererū.