Podocarpus totara (), commonly known as the , is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. Found across New Zealand, the tree can grow up to a height of , and is known for its longevity.
The wood of tōtara is rot-resistant, and prized in Māori culture, and was often used as a material to create large-scale waka.
Description
thumb|left|Largest known living tōtara, the Pouakani Tree
thumb|A tōtara regenerating on farmland, Cook Flat, West Coast
The tōtara is a medium to large tree, which grows slowly to around exceptionally to ; it is noted for its longevity and the great girth of its trunk. The bark peels off in papery flakes, with a purplish to golden brown hue. The sharp, dull-green, needle-like leaves are stiff and leathery, long. This plant produces highly modified cones with two to four fused, fleshy, berry-like, juicy scales, bright red when mature. The cone contains one or two rounded seeds at the apex of the scales.
The largest known living tōtara, the Pouakani Tree, near Pureora in the central North Island, is over tall and nearly in trunk diameter at breast height. Bushmen discovered it in 1950. Other large trees are known in this area, while Whirinaki Forest, to the east, but also on deep recent volcanic soils, has groves of very tall tōtara (over in height).
Taxonomy
The first informal description of Podocarpus totara was by Australian naturalist George Bennett in 1832, published as an appendix to Aylmer Bourke Lambert's third edition second volume of A Description of the Genus Pinus. When the species was formally described by David Don, he used Bennett's binomial name.
The two varieties of tōtara are:
- Podocarpus totara var. totara
- Podocarpus totara var. waihoensis
Podocarpus totara var. waihoensis, also known as the Westland tōtara, is a variety found in the West Coast Region of the South Island, approximately south from the Waiho River. The variety is not recognised by some authors, and it may potentially be a hybrid of Podocarpus totara and Podocarpus acutifolius.
Etymology
Its Māori name comes from the Proto-Polynesian word *tootara (related to the word tara lit. 'thorn') which when passed down to descendant languages refer to spiny creatures, especially the porcupinefish (Diodon hystrix) due to its spiky leaves. The species epithet totara comes from the Māori language name. The spelling "totara" without the tohutō is also common in English.
Distribution and habitat
Podocarpus totara is found in both the North Island and the South Island, growing in both lowland, montane and lower subalpine habitats, at elevations of up to It is rarely found on Stewart Island / Rakiura.
Tōtara is often found regenerating on farmland, as it is not eaten by livestock.
Several cultivars for garden use have been introduced. These include 'Albany Gold' and 'Aurea', both have yellow 'gold' foliage that darkens in winter; 'Pendula', which has a weeping growth habit that is especially pronounced in young plants; 'Silver Falls', also pendulous but with cream-edged foliage; and 'Matapouri Blue', which has a conical form and glaucous foliage.
Human use
The wood is hard, straight-grained, and very resistant to rot, especially its heartwood. Due to its durability, tōtara wood was often used for fence posts, floor pilings, and railway sleepers. It is also prized for its carving properties, and was the primary wood used in Māori carving. It was the primary wood used to make waka (canoes) in traditional Māori boat building due to its relatively light weight (about 25% lighter than kauri), long, straight lengths, and natural oils in the wood that 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.
During European settlement, tōtara wood was prized as a rot-resistant, strong and durable material, used to construct wharf piles, railway sleepers and fence posts. and smoke from tōtara wood was used as a traditional remedy for skin ailments. While totarol is no longer typically isolated from the tree in commercial production, it is a common ingredient in cosmetics. Because of its use as a material for waka, the tōtara is often associated with Tūmatauenga, the god of war, and an alternative name for the tree is Tū-kau-Moana, or Tū who swims in the ocean.