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Hi
Kia ora and hello again.
It's certainly been a winter to forget. Northland has experienced some of the most intense frosts I can remember in my eighteen years living here and we have got off lightly compared to the rest of the country. About six mornings of frost where I live. Some years there hasn't been one. It's good to see the days are getting longer. Soon the shining cuckoo will call us to work in the garden. I'm thinking of what veges I should plant in the shade house so that I'm ready for the warming days of spring. This month's newsletter celebrates New Zealand's most excellent tree, the mighty kauri.
NEWSFLASH :Bushmansfriend purchases Whangaroa Houseboat Rentals
I am pleased to announce the expansion of Bushman's friend, by the purchase of Whangaroa Houseboat Rentals Ltd. I am now able to offer customers a wide range of natural experiences centered around the beautiful and tranquil Whangaroa Harbour: New Zealand Nature Tours & Bush Walks, Whangaroa Harbour tours, boat pick ups from Lane Cove, kayak hire and houseboat rentals. For full details for a unique experience of renting a houseboat visit the website from here
Northland Kauri Festival September 15-30 2006
The kauri festival is only a month away, during the September school holidays. If you are planning a trip north, why not combine your holiday with a kauri activity? Northland has a deep connection with kauri, with many relationships and stories to be shared. The Northland Kauri Festival provides a way for these stories to be highlighted, celebrated, and experienced. Throughout the region the stories of the kauri and the peoples of the region are intimately intertwined. From the arrival of Maori several hundred years ago, through to the early settlers of the 1800s and up to the present time, the kauri has endured in an ever evolving landscape.
The trees are part of the living history that is Northland. They pre-date human existence in New Zealand. Their ancestors were mature specimens when dinosaurs roamed the land. Several of the world's largest living kauri trees are in Northland, including the largest, Tane Mahuta, at 51 metres high and over 1500 years old. It knew the ancient world of the moa and the huia.
Come and listen to the stories as told through the eyes of local people - the descendants of the early arrivals and settlers of the region. Be welcomed into the diverse local cultures that abound in Northland. Share the wonder of the kauri with us. Nau mai, haere mai.
In all its aspects and characteristics kauri is the world's most excellent tree. It is an outstanding timber of world reputation. Kauri heads that group of timbers whenever standards of excellence are quoted. The even grained wood is suitable for all but the most specialised needs. It is a very stable timber that machines very well, ideal for turning and carving, finishing, flooring, weatherboards, fine furniture and all common uses. It is a warm and wonderful wood, the grain and gum resins shimmer in the light with honey gold lustre.
Kauri is a massive tree reaching up to 30m, and in rare specimens, to 60m tall. Its trunk grows to 3m in diameter and occasionally to 7m. There are many records of trees yielding logs 7m in diameter and 24m in length. The bole is always straight, often branch free, columnar, with little or no taper. Remarkably, there may be a reverse taper from the crown to the roots. The bark is ash gray, smooth, and scales in flakes to reveal a brown inner bark. Large mounds of shed bark and litter collect at the base of the trunk (pukahu).
Leaves and branches are in whorls. In mature trees the branches become massive (up to 800mm in diameter) and are deeply impregnated with resins that produce timber of superior lustre and grain. Gnarly burrs can create wood of great character. The crown in young trees is narrowly conical and in mature trees massive, flat topped or fan shaped, spreading to a diameter of 30m.
The root system serves the two functions of anchoring the massive structure and feeding this living body. Long lateral roots, that usually exceed the mature crown in spread, radiate outwards and grow strong peg roots that anchor the tree. Fine lateral roots are prominent near the surface and feed the plant by absorbing the nutrients of the decomposing litter.
The leaves of young trees are up to 10cm x 12mm lanceolate and in the open may have a reddish brown tint. Adult leaves are smaller to 3.5cm and are blunt tipped.
The male and female flowers and cones are found on the same tree. The female flowers are small, green, spherical and develop into ripe cones 18 months later. They are up to 80mm in diameter, carried at the end of short branches.
Kauri's natural distribution is no further south than latitude 38, a line from Kawhia to Opotiki. Its present distribution to the warm north appears to be the outcome of previous climates. Seedlings can withstand a few degrees of frost. It can be grown siviculturally in the extreme south of South Island, displaying growth rates similar to that in the Far North.
It is tolerant of a wide range of soils from mild swamp and heavy clays to shallow stony soils of steep hill country.
Northern Maori believe kauri to be the father of the sperm whale. They are both chiefs (rangatira) of their environments and have skin of the same colour and texture. The resinous kauri gum is similar to ambergris found in the intestines of whales.
Kauri fruits annually after the age of about 15 years. The female cones can be found in plentiful supply on the tree. Sometimes they can be gathered from beneath the tree where they fall and shatter. Branches may fall after a storm.
The female cone is oval shape about the size of a large golf ball when ripe in March and April. In the cone a single winged seed is attached to each scale (with the exception of the top and bottom scales). There are 50-110 seeds per cone and 90-110 seeds per gram. The heavier seeds are generally found in the centre of the cone. Seed viability is approximately 50% per cone. The cone disintegrates on the tree releasing the seed to the wind. A wet summer can cause the infection of the cones with the fungous disease Pestalozzia funerea.
The seed should be sown immediately on collection in a free draining mix in a deep seed tray. Seed germination decreases to less than 1% within 8 months. Do not remove the wing from the seed as this acts as a wick to aid water absorption. Sow seed down and wing up, in a moist, warm environment. Light is necessary for germination. If conditions are suitable, germination may proceed within a week of sowing and may continue spasmodically until early spring. The seedling is 4-6 cm. high with 2 lanceolate cotyledons. The single fleshy taproot may be 8 cm. in length at this stage. Four to five months after germination the seedling may be 10 cm high, with a deep reaching tap root and a few fibrous laterals. Kauri show an affinity to be apically dominant: if a terminal leader is broken another branch will adopt the central bud.
The Puketi Forest is an ancient kauri forest located in the heart of Northland and is one of New Zealand's most precious habitats. The Puketi Forest Trust is working to restore this magnificent kauri forest to its original biodiversity Check out The Puketi Forest Trust for more information.
New Zealand Fine Prints
'Kauri Forest' by Charles Heaphy
New Zealand Fine Prints
Explore New Zealand Fine Prints' Online Art Store.Through this website you can easily find and purchase, at affordable prices, all New Zealand art prints currently available. New Zealand Fine Prints Ltd has been New Zealand's specialist supplier of fine art prints since 1966. Prompt delivery throughout NZ (for $6) or around the world (for $15).
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Until next time,
look after yourself..... and enjoy New Zealand's natural world.
Tony Foster
Bushman's Friend
New Zealand Nature Walks
New Zealand Plants
Whangaroa Houseboat Rentals
Campbell Rd. Totara North
RD2 Kaeo 0479
Northland New Zealand
Phone: 09 4051844
tony@bushmansfriend.co.nz
info@houseboatrentals.co.nz
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