Pi.ATK 168.— HEIL8CHMI?:i)IA TARAIRI. 



(THE TARAIRE.) 

 Family [.AURACE^.I [Uenus BEILSCHMIEDIA, Nees. 



Beilschmiedia Tarairi, BeMlh. & Hook. j. ex T. Kirk, Forest Fl. t. 43 ■ Cheexem Man A' Z 



Fl. tj02. 

 Laurus Tarairi, .1. Cunn. Precw. ii. 351. 



Few New Zealand trees are more familiar to tlie settler of the northern portion 

 of the North Island than the subject of this plate, known to both Maori and 

 European by its native name of taraire. The great abundance of th(! tree in 

 many districts north of Auckland is doubtless the chief reason for this ; but its 

 remarkably distinct appearance, due to the slender, straight trunk, few short 

 branches, and fine bold foliage, cannot fail to impress the observer, even in 

 localities where it is comparatively rare. 



In the " Flora Novse Zelandise " Sir J. D. Hooker quotes Banks and Solander 

 as the first collectors of the taraire. This I believe to be incorrect. It is not figured 

 in the Banksian plates, there is no description that matches it in Solander's 

 manuscripts, and there are no specimens in the set of Banksian plates presented 

 to the Dominion by the Trustees of the British Museum. Its first discoverer, so 

 far as I can ascertain, was the enthusiastic Allan Cunningham, who collected it 

 in 1826 " in dry woods on the banks of rivers. Bay of Islands, Whangaroa, &c." 

 In 1838 he described it in his " Precursor " under the name of Lauriis Tarairi, an 

 appellation which it retained until the publication of the " Flora Novse Zelandite " 

 in 1853, when Sir J. D. Hooker founded the genus Nesodaphne for its reception 

 and that of its near ally the tawa. In 1880, however, Nesodaphne was merged 

 by Hooker and Bentham in the " Genera Plantarum " with the Asiatic and African 

 genus Beilschmiedia, a view which has also been adopted by Pax in Engler's 

 " Pflanzenfamilien." 



Beilschmiedia Tarairi has a limited range, being confined to the northern portion 

 of the North Island, from the North Cape to Hicks Bay on the east coast, and to 

 Raglan on the west. South of the Auckland Isthmus it is by no means common, 

 and is often absent from wide districts ; but from the Kaipara northwards to the 

 Bay of Islands and Hokianga it is abundant, often constituting a large proportion 

 of the forest. It prefers dry rich soils, and is most plentiful at moderate elevations. 

 I have not myself seen it at a greater height than 1,700 ft., but I believe that it 

 ascends to nearly 2,000 ft. on the plateau between the Northern Wairoa River and 

 Hokianga. 



The wood of the taraire is pale in colour, close-grained, and easily worked, 

 but is deficient in strength and elasticity. It has the reputation of not being durable 

 when exposed to the weather, but I am inclined to think that it is more lasting than 

 is usually supposed. In any case, the timber should be serviceable for inside work, 

 for the manufacture of white-wood furniture, tubs, buckets, &c., and it seems 

 extraordinary that so little is done towards utilizing it in that direction. The large 

 plum-like berries were formerly used by the Maoris as food, the kernels being 

 steamed for a couple of days in an oven. The pulpy portion of the berries, though 

 edible, is not at all palatable, and was seldom eaten except by children. 



Plate 168. Beilschmiedia Tarairi, drawn from specimens collected in the vicinity of Auckland. 

 Fig. 1, flower-bud (x5); 2, flower (x5); 3, perianth laid open ( x 8) ; i. perianth-segment and 

 stamen ( x 9) ; 5 and 6, front and back view of stamen ( x 9) : 7. ovary ( x 8) ; 8, section of ovary 

 ( X 8) ; 9, seed (natural size). 



