Plate 134.— OLE A LANCEOLATA. 



Family OLEACE^.] [Genus OLEA, Linn. 



Olea lanceolata, Hooh. /. Fl. Nor. Zrl. i, 176 ; Checsem. Man. N.Z. Fl. 438. 



The New Zealand olives differ in a marked manner from their relatives of the 

 Northern Hemisphere in the flowers being invariably apetalous. The first species 

 discovered, the Norfolk Island 0. apetala, was therefore selected by EndUcher as 

 the type of a separate genus, to which he applied the name of GymnelcBa. But in 

 the Indian 0. dioica, where the male flowers have a corolla, the females have none, 

 thus clearly proving that the absence of a corolla is not sufficient by itself for 

 generic distinction. Recent botanists have therefore refused to entertain the idea 

 of subdividing the genus. 



Olea lanceolata is the most abundant species in New Zealand, and has the 

 widest distribution. It was probably first discovered by Allan Cunningham, and 

 confounded by him with one of the species of his genus Mida, now included by 

 botanists under Fusamis Cunninghamii. This mistake is even occasionally made 

 at the present day. Mr. Colenso and Dr. Sinclair are the two earliest botanists who 

 are positively known to have collected the plant. It is now known to be an 

 abundant constituent of the lowland forests of the North Island, from the North 

 Cape to Cook Strait, and from sea-level to an altitude of 2,000 ft. or thereabouts. 

 It is also found in a few localities in the Nelson Provincial District, where, however, 

 it is decidedly rare. 



0. lanceolata is one of the trees to which the Maori name of maire is applied. 

 It usually forms a closely branched round-headed tree 20 ft. to 50 ft. high, rarely 

 more, with a trunk 1 ft. to 3 ft. in diameter. It is closely allied to 0. Cunninghamii, 

 which is a taller and stouter plant, with larger broader leaves, and with stouter 

 pubescent racemes. 0. montana is at once distinguished by the much narrower 

 leaves and smaller racemes. Like all the New Zealand species of Olea, the leaves 

 of young plants are markedly different from those of the adult, being much longer 

 and narrower, and more acuminate. 



All the New Zealand species of Olea produce a very similar timber, of great 

 hardness and durability. The heart-wood is dark brown, often prettily marked 

 with streaks of darker brown or almost black ; the sap-wood is pale yellowish- 

 brown. It is in every respect a timber of great value for any purpose requiring 

 strength, hardness, durability, and evenness of grain ; and it is somewhat curious 

 that, notwithstanding its evident advantages, such small use is made of it. For 

 ships'-blocks, wooden bearings for machinery, the framework of railway-carriages 

 or tram-cars, door-knobs, and other ornamental turned-work it appears to be 

 specially fitted. Its value was well known to the Maoris in olden times, who 

 frequently used it for their digging-spades (Ko, rapa-maire), for flax-beaters or 

 fern-root pounders {paoi), and for wooden 7neres or fighting-clubs (mere-rakau). 



Mr. Elsdon Best, in his interesting paper on " Maori Forest Lore " (Trans. N.Z. 

 Inst. vol. xl. (1908) 216), makes the following remarks in reference to the maire. 

 " The maire-tree is the offspring of Te Pu-whakahara and Hine-pipi. The former 

 was a son of Tane, and appears to be a star-name, or connected in some way with a 

 star. An old saying applied to the hard-wooded maire is ' E kore e ngawhere, he 

 maire tu wao, ma te toki e tua ' ; meaning, ' It will not break (or work) easily ; it 



