Miro

Miro tree – Prumnopitys ferruginea

Miro is of the coniferous Family and is endemic to New Zealand

Miro in the Tangihua’s

Miro can be found on the nature trail and on the ridges and on the northern slopes where it is a dominate tree.

Growing up to 25 metres high, the miro bears pinkish, purple fruit especially in autumn to early winter, which is a favourite food of kākā and wood pigeons.

The trunk of the miro grows straight up and sheds its branches. The bark flacks of in thick round chunks which leave brown blotches on the trunk making look some one has hit it with a hammer

Miro and Matai are similar to look at

Miro is distinguished from the related, and (initially) very similar looking mataī (Prumnopitys taxifolia) in four aspects of its anatomy; its cones, bark, seeds and leaves.

• Miro trees have longer, broader leaves with green undersides while those of mataī leaves are white. In addition, the leaves of miro generally narrow to a point, whereas those of mataī are rounded, sometimes with a small point right at the very tip.
• Miro trees have cones of some hue of red in colour while those of mataī are blue-black.
• Miro also have relatively longer cones which are oval and red in colour.
• Like mataī, the bark of more mature miro trees flakes off to leave a distinctive hammer mark pattern, but unlike mataī, the pattern is not as pronounced nor as colourful (areas from which bark flakes have recently fallen in mataī often have a striking red colour that fades over time back to brown).

Miro is a favourite of Kereu wood pigeon

Miro’s bright coloured fruit and strong smell of turpintine makes the fruit easy to see and very attractive to birds.

Significance to Maori

The Maori people did not use miro timber to any extent but they did make great use of the tree because of the attraction of its fruit to the kereru. Probably because a meal of miro berries made kereru thirsty, hunters would place water troughs near the trees and set snares around them.

The other main use made of the miro by Maori was medicinal. An oil expressed from the drupes was used as an insect repellent when rubbed onto the skin and was also given to help recover from fever. The gum exuding from the bark was applied to wounds and ulcers, a liquor prepared from leaves and bark was taken internally for gonorrhoea and a bark infusion used for stomach ache. The early Pakeha bushmen also used miro as an antiseptic. The bled resin and the bark are a rich source of diterpenoides. Maori also ate the fruit, despite it smelling and tasting like turpentine