Orokonui Ecosanctuary/Plants

=Kā Rākau - Forest=

CLOUD FOREST

 * Orokonui's annual rainfall of some 800-1200 is barely wet enough to support indigenous forest but is supplemented by sea fogs that help maintain sufficient humidity and soil moisture
 * No distinct tiers of vegetation (canopy, understorey and ground layer) instead comprising of a vertical continuum of ferns, seedlings, saplings, shrubs, vines and trees
 * Uppermost more or less continuous surface formed by the canopies of broadleaved tree species
 * The most characteristic species of cloud forest tree is Pāhautea

Pāhautea/Kaikawaka - New Zealand cedar

 * New Zealand has only three true coniferous tree species, kauri and two members of the cedar family
 * Pāhautea, also known as kaikawaka, is found in montane and subalpine forests in both main islands, and descends towards the lowlands in the far south
 * Common on Dunedin's hills, distinctive conical crown rises above the broadleaved tree canopy
 * Orokonui has at least two mature pāhautea - near the Rimu Track
 * Mihiwaka carries quite large populations of the species
 * Pāhautea is high on planting list to ensure that this defining tree of cloud forest continues to thrive in a protected habitat

Makomako - Wineberry

 * Dioecious – need female plants
 * Warmed leaves used as poultice for rheumatism and burns, boils
 * Eaten raw by Maori and made into jam and wine by Europeans.
 * Usually die out after 10-15 years
 * Tui and Tauhau eat fruit, kereru eat fruit and leaves
 * Pūkaikai bird spears - made in sections
 * Ipu basins
 * Burnt and soot collected for use as tattooing ink

Putaputawētā - Marbleleaf

 * Full of weta holes - wētā grubs tunnel it extensively
 * Mottled leaves on zigzagging branches
 * Distinct juvenile phase with small leaves

Hūpiro - Stinkwood

 * Dioecious. - pollinated by wind
 * Leaves crushed smell bad!
 * Roasted seed is coffee substitute

Mikimiki - Yellow Wood

 * Grey interlacing branches, dark green leaves on top, pale underneath, quite thick
 * Translucent berries initially pale but turn translucent blue.
 * Good food for lizards, insects
 * Some coprosmas have red berries that attract birds but the blue are strictly for lizards and hang underneath the branch

Kōtukutuku - Tree fuchsia

 * Deciduous
 * Largest fuchsia in world
 * Flowers start green then turn burgundy red when nectar finished
 * Pollen is bright blue only on hermaphrodite trees
 * Female trees can only be pollinated by birds
 * Example of mutualism, birds need nectar, trees need pollination
 * Used as lipstick by Maori
 * Berry named kōnini; it was also eaten by European settlers in jams and puddings
 * Dye used as ink

Kapuka - Broadleaf

 * Kapuka (as in Kapuka-tau-mahaka/ Mt Cargill)
 * Timber dense used for fenceposts (can be seen on the track by the big pokaka), house piles and boat building
 * Bitter berries, loved by birds
 * Inner bark used for TB and STDs
 * Life span of at least 100 years

Koromiko - Hebe salicifolia

 * Large bushy evergreen shrub with spear shaped leaves with white or pale lilac flower spikes
 * Vapour and poultice for headaches, diarrhoea, kidney infections and bladder disorders

Kanuka - Kunzea ericoides

 * Up to 15m high
 * Leaves small pointed aromatic
 * Flowers small white.
 * Successional species. Forms dense scrub then will diversify to a mixed forest.
 * Provide habitat for a wide variety of other plants and animals such as orchids.

Mahoe - Whiteywood

 * Grows to 10m.
 * White splotchy bark. Violet blue berry eaten by many birds.
 * Dioecious
 * Insect pollinated.
 * Used to create fire by friction.
 * Kaka love to chisel off the bark to get at the sap

Horopito - Pepper Tree

 * Pseudowintera colorata
 * Chewed for toothache
 * Cafe dries and uses leaves for seasoning
 * One of the earliest flowering trees to evolve and is endemic at the genus level

Harakeke - Flax

 * Phormium tenax
 * Used for burns, cuts, constipation, splints
 * Gum from base of the leaves for cuts and sores.
 * Roots scraped, cleaned, boiled and consumed for constipation
 * Clothing, shelter, hunting
 * Baskets and ropes

Totara - Hall's

 * Podocarpus hallii
 * Can live up to 600 years
 * Maori used for shelters
 * Most common totara here with a couple of Podocarpus totara lower in the valley

Harakeke - Flax

 * Harakeke Programme

Houi/Lacebark

 * Bark - mats/kākahu, baskets/kete, poi balls, belts/tātua and piupiu
 * Wood - fishing rod


 * Kiekie


 * Kowhai
 * Kuta
 * Maire

Mānuka/Kanuka- Teatree

 * Neinei
 * Patiti
 * Pikao
 * Pirita
 * Poroporo
 * Rata
 * Raupo
 * Rimu
 * Taramea
 * Tarata
 * Ti Kouka
 * Tikumu
 * Toatoa
 * Toetoe
 * Toi
 * Totara
 * Tutu
 * Wiwi

Aruhe - Pikopiko

 * Māori used the rhizomes of P. esculentum (aruhe) as a staple food, especially for exploring or hunting groups away from permanent settlements
 * Widespread distribution consequence of prehistoric deforestation and subsequent tending of aruhe stands on rich soils
 * Rhizomes were air-dried so that they could be stored and became lighter; for consumption,
 * Briefly heated and then softened with a patu aruhe (rhizome pounder)
 * The starch could then be sucked from the fibres by each diner, or collected if it were to be prepared for a larger feast.
 * Patu aruhe were significant items and several distinct styles were developed.