I am very excited to announce my new book ‘Secrets of the Sea’ is here! I’ve taken a brief foray away from the forest to explore the magic and mystery beneath the waves. It’s been an incredible journey and I can’t wait to share it with you all. You can pick up a copy online or in store at the Auckland Museum gift shop now.For … Continue reading Secrets of the Sea Book
Kānuka has a tough time bursting through to the public spotlight. It’s often overshadowed by its cousin mānuka – stealing the limelight with headlines about its remarkable medicinal honey. But kānuka is an incredibly impressive plant in its own right that stands apart from its fellow tea-tree. While mānuka can be found in both New Zealand and Australia, our kānuka species are endemic to NZ and found … Continue reading Kānuka – Kunzea spp.
The easiest way to identify taraire is to listen for the crunch of its leathery leaves under your feet. The large, green leaves are very slow to rot, and over time will build up in a thick, crunchy blanket on the forest floor. This leaf-layer smothers out many other seedlings and plants, leaving the forest open and easy to navigate on foot. The other remarkable feature … Continue reading Taraire – Beilschmiedia tarairi
Lacebark is also known as thousand jacket or ribbon wood and these names all refer to the soft net-like fibre underneath its bark which is perforated with holes. This bark has a soft, delicate appearance and can be used in fine decorative weaving. Continue reading Lacebark – Hoheria populnea
One of the easiest ways to tell whether you are looking at mahoe is to look at the leaf litter on the forest floor. The decaying leaves form characteristic skeleton leaves, as the leaf matter dies away and leaves only the architecture of the veins. Often piles of these dead skeleton leaves build up around the base of the tree. Another interesting feature of the … Continue reading Mahoe – Melicytus ramiflorus
Pukatea rises from wet and swampy ground to tower amongst the giants of the forest. To achieve this amazing feat, it builds itself walled buttress roots that help prop it up in soggy soil and keep it from falling over. In very wet conditions, it will even grow pneumatophores – small snorkel-like structures on its roots that help them breathe underwater. The bark of Pukatea contains a powerful … Continue reading Pukatea – Laurelia novae-zelandiae
At first glance the thin wiry stems of Mangemange look easy to break, but they are actually incredibly strong. Many trampers find themselves strung up by the plant, struggling in vain to break free. Māori believed these tough wiry stems were so durable they could last a hundred years, and found a number of ingenious uses for them. Mangemange stems were made into rope, thatching, fish … Continue reading Mangemange – Lygodium articulatum
Hold the leaves of Ngaio up to the light and you will see it is studded with oil glands. These glands are packed full of the toxin Ngaione, which kills its victims by shutting down the liver. Many horses, cattle, sheep and pigs have suffered this unfortunate fate after grazing on Ngaio leaves. However, the toxic oil is not without its uses and Māori discovered that by … Continue reading Ngaio – Myoporum laetum
The Meaning of Trees 