027 550 0611Podocarpus totara
Podocarpus cunninghamii ( also referred to as Podocarpus hallii)
Totara the Tangihua ranges.
Totara is common in the Tangihua ranges as they are through out Northland. They can be seen on all the tracks and around the lodge. We have some wonderful examples on the nature trail.
We have both Podocarpus totara and Podocarpus cunninghamii (also referred to as Podocarpus hallii) on the nature trail.
Totara on farm land with horse underneath
Totara description
Totara in the forest grows tall and straight as competition from other trees around it force it upwards in search of light.
On farm land and open country it tends to be a more bushy tree as the tree branch’s can spread out more in search of light.
New Zealand Totara is largest known tree in the Podocarpaceae genius.
The Tōtara grows slowly to around 20 to 2m and can reach 35m; Totara is noted for its longevity and the great girth of its trunk. The rough brown bark peels off in papery flakes, The sharp, 2cm long dull green needle-like leaves are stiff and leathery and protect it from grazing animals and can also inhabit other plants from establishing under the tree.
Totara species
There are five species referred to as Totara in New Zealand, only two are found in Northland
The two in the Northland are
- Podocarpus totara referred to as Totara
- Podocarpus cunninghamii referred to as Halls Totara or mountain Totara.
Podocarpus cunninghamii was previously known as Podocarpus hallii hence the name Halls Totara. It will be referred to as Halls totara in this article.
The two Totara are closely related and hard to distinguish. They frequently hybridise (interbreed) and as they age the foliage comes to resemble each other more and more.
The two Totara species often grow together in lowland forests from sea level to 600m, with Totara giving way to Halls Totara above 480 m. The pollen and seed cones are similar to and appear at the same time.
| Halls Totara Podocarpus cunninghamii |
Totara Podocarpus totara |
|
|---|---|---|
| Habitat | Tends to grow at higher altitude, above 300m | Tends to be below 300m – some overlap |
| Leaves | Leaves are much spiker or prickly to touch especially in older trees juvenile leaves which are 2.5-5 cm long and 4-5 mm wide. The adult leaves are 2-3cm long and 3-4mm wide. The groove on the upper side of the leaf is deeper and wider leaves are green in contrast and as the stem hardens it usually develops a purple coloration has heavier foliage |
has a yellow tinge to it especially on the leaf margins midrib below and the new stem as it hardens. Totara leaves are smaller, slightly at 2cm long less pungent leaf tips, and most readily by the leaf bud which is the same diameter as the branchlet, and by the narrower, lanceolate bracts surrounding the emergent leaves |
| Bark | thinner, flakier, paper like bark | distinguished by its thicker bark |
| Trunks |  |
 |
Halls Totara
Commonly known as Hall’s tōtara, mountain tōtara or thin-barked tōtara. Previously known as Podocarpus hallii,
Halls totara can grow in what appear to be two distinct ecological niches in the North Island.
- The first role is that of mountain totara, where it grows as a forest dominant on well drained soils at elevations above 480 m.
- The second role is that of a codominant tree tolerant of wet soils, in which capacity it grows on very wet substrates at low elevations throughout much of Northland. Examples include trees growing on wet floodplain soils in Waipoua and Trounson Kauri Forests, and trees growing very near mangroves around Auckland.
Video by from forest and bird by Dean Baigent-Mercer
Totara Reproduction
Totara is tree with separate sexes.
The male tree has pollen cones, which develop in spring (October) at the ends of the old stems and are in groups of 1-3. New cones are green, but turn brown as they open and release pollen. New leaves, with a lighter green colour develop from the tips of the stems, just beyond the cones.
The female fruit is a rounded green seed (4-5 mm) which sits on a red smooth succulent receptacle.The seeds ripen in May and June, and germinate in the following late spring and summer.
Totara is dispersed by birds that eat the seeds, digest the fleshy receptacle, and excrete the seed. Pigeons, Tuis bellbirds and the yellow-crowned parakeet were the native birds that feed on the Totara berries. numerous introduced species also feed and disperse the seeds.
Significance to Maori
The wood is hard, straight-grained and very resistant to rot, especially its heartwood.
The Maori prized this forest tree more highly than any other. The heartwood is very durable and the Maori found the wood could be readily split and shaped with primitive stone tools for canoes, building, and carving.
It was the primary wood used to make waka in traditional Maori boat building due to its relatively light weight (about 25% lighter than kauri ), long straight lengths and natural oils in the wood which help prevent rotting. Tōtara could be drilled with chert points to make holes near the edges of the timber without splitting. In larger tōtara waka , three or more sections were laced together with flax rope. A tōtara waka took at least a year to make using stone adzes.
The bark was formerly used by southern Maori to encase the kelp bags used for storing mutton birds. These containers are known as pohatiti (Metcalf 2002)
