Beilschmiedia tawa, commonly known as the Māori name tawa, In 1853, the species was moved to the genus Nesodaphne by Joseph Dalton Hooker in the series Flora Novae-Zelandiae. The genus was combined into Beilschmiedia by George Bentham and Hooker in 1880. The current scientific name Beilschmiedia tawa uses the 1889 description by Thomas Kirk in the periodical Forest Flora of New Zealand as the authority. Its epithet tawa is also its Māori name
In 1984, botanist Anthony Ernest Wright described a new species called Beilschmiedia tawaroa after noticing differences in trees grown in the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, which had larger, dark green elliptic leaves. This species was synonymised with Beilschmiedia tawa by Peter de Lange and Ewen Cameron in 1999, who failed to find any other consistent distinguishing features.
Distribution
Beilschmiedia tawa is a tree endemic to New Zealand. It is most commonly found in the North Island, and on many of its off-shore islands. In the South Island, the tree is less common with its population being mainly centred in the Marlborough Region, with its southernmost population located in the Kaikōura Ranges, in the northern Canterbury Region. It is one of two members of the genus Beilschmiedia found in New Zealand, alongside Beilschmiedia tarairi, also known as taraire. a beetle species also known by the name tawa longhorn.
Māori cultural uses and significance
The wood of tawa trees has traditionally been used by Māori to craft implements such as paddles, clubs, adze handles, and notably lances to spear kererū, some of which could be up to in length. Processed tawa kernels could be stored for long periods, and after contact with Europeans, the kernels were occasionally mixed with honey and mashed to form cakes. The phrase ahi tawa (tawa fire) can be used to describe noisy things and children, and is a reference to the loud popping sounds of tawa kernels cooking in fires.
Gallery
<gallery>
Beilschmiedia tawa in Dunedin Botanic Garden.jpg|Bark
Beilschmiedia tawa in Mount Ngongotaha SR (1).jpg|Tawa leaves
Beilschmiedia tawa (A.Cunn.) Benth. and Hook.f. ex Kirk (AM AK375389).jpg|Herbarium specimen
Beilschmiedia tawaroa A.E.Wright (AM AK156145-1).jpg|Herbarium specimen of Beilschmiedia tawaroa, since synonymised with Beilschmiedia tawa
Beilschmiedia tawa flowers.jpg|Flowers
Tawa fruit (cropped).jpg|Tawa fruit ripening from green to dark purple
</gallery>
See also
- List of trees native to New Zealand
- Beilschmiedia tarairi