226 Transactions. 



of food. It does not appear to have grown, or been cultivated, 

 in this district, or at least not in the interior, but the name is 

 known to the old men. The following remark was made by a 

 local Native before the Land Commission : " He ti tawhiti te o i 

 mate ai te tahi tangata o Rotorua, na reira i tapaia taua ingoa hi 

 tetahi wahine o konei " (A ti-taivhiti was the last food partaken 

 of by a certain dying person at Eotorua, hence that name was 

 given to a woman of this place). 



The common species of Cordyline (C. australis), the " cabbage- 

 tree " of the settlers, is known as ti to the Natives, though ti is 

 also a generic term for all the species. C. australis is known as 

 kouka, or ti-kouka, among some tribes ; others, again, term it 

 whanake. The leaves of this species are said to contain a bitter 

 sap which is absent in leaves of the toi. Leaves of the latter 

 are said to have been sometimes steamed and the fleshy part 

 eaten. The tap-root and upper part of the trunk of the ti were 

 •eaten. After having been steamed for about forty-eight hours 

 it was chewed and the fibrous matter rejected. The roots con- 

 tain sugar and farinaceous matter. The leaves of C. australis 

 contain a strong fibre, which is much more durable than that of 

 Phormium tenax, hence it was much used in the manufacture of 

 snares and other articles exposed to the weather. Rough 

 shoulder-capes were also made from these leaves. The ti are 

 much frequented by pigeons in the season, and it was a valuable 

 tree to the old-time Maori. 



The ti-kapu seems to be known in other districts as ti-parae 

 and ti-ngahere, while Williams's Maori Dictionary gives hauora 

 as another name for it. The word parae is generally used by the 

 Maoris to denote open country, but the Tuhoe Tribe apply the 

 term to bush country, which is somewhat confusing to a new- 

 comer. The ti-kapu is generally found about the edge of a 

 forest, or on high ridges and steep places where small timber 

 prevails. Myriads of these plants sprang into life on the Tau- 

 mata-miere Range when the bridle-track was made and the trees 

 felled a width of a chain. On the high ranges of the interior 

 the toi springs up on such cleared lines, though not in such 

 greai numbers. Of the ti-kapu, the young undeveloped leaves 

 (rito) alone were eaten. 



The toi, or ti-toi, is known to some tribes as ti-mataku-tai 

 (ocean-fearing Cordyline), which same is an excellent name for it, 

 as it does not flourish near the coast. The kauru, or upper pari 

 of the trunk of the toi, was sometimes eaten prepared as was that 

 of the ti, but it does not seem to have been much appreciated. 

 The outside of the kauru was cut off before bein^ steamed in 

 the earth-oven ; the tap-root was also eaten : while the young 

 leaves were used as a vegetable, as we use greens. The fibre 



