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THE ART ALBUM OF NEW ZEALAND FLORA. 



1. PENNANTIA CORYMBOSA {ForsI .) The Corymbose Pennantia. 



Specific Chakacteh. — A small, very gi-ncoful lm\ 

 covoroil with white, swoet-smoUing flowers, 20-;J0 ft.hif^h; 

 bark, whitish; wood, brittle ; twigs and young cymes, pubes- 

 cent. Leaves on short iietiolcs, 1-3 in, long, ovate, oburale or 

 oblong, obtuse, sinuate or toothed, rarely entire, often turning 



black in drying. Male flowers largest. Filanu-nts longer than 

 the petals ; ovary reduced to a papilla; pedicels jointed below 

 the calyx. Berries, ovoid, black, fleshy, with purple juice, 

 \ in. long. — Handbook of Ike New Zealand Flora, p. <12. 



Desckiptiox, etc.— Plate No. 19.— The " KAIKOMAKO."— This very graceful 

 small tree, which, in the season, produces an abundance of sweet-scented flowers, is 

 indigenous to both Islands, but is most common throughout the Middle Island. In the 

 North it is chiefly found in mountain woods. It seldom grows more than 30 feet in 

 height, and blossoms in December, when it is indeed a spectacle, being mostly covered 

 with cymes of handsome, fragrant, white flowers. The bark is whitish, not unlike that 

 of the Pukatea, fAtho'osperma Novce Zelandia;) . The wood is white, very brittle, but 

 splits freely. In former days the Maoris vised this wood in conjunction with that of the 

 Hinahina, fMelicytus ramijlorusj , or other woods of a soft nature, to obtain fire by friction. 

 On this account the tree was much prized, and bore an economic value, which it does 

 not at present. The process employed in this very useful proceeding was exceedingly 

 tedious, not to say laborious. A stick of the Kaikomako, having been well dried and 

 scraped, was rubbed vigorously backwards and forwards upon another piece of wood 

 selected for a bed. The continued pressure and friction caused shreds of carbonized 

 fibre from the woods in contact to accumulate at the base of the stick, which, in due 

 course, commenced to smoke and then ignite. It is needless to say that this primitive 

 method to obtain fire is now, except under extreme circumstances, or by way of experi- 

 ment, dispensed with, the Maori finding the burning glass or the wax match of the 

 Pakeha more satisfactory and more expeditious for the purpose. The pretty, egg-shaped 

 berries are described by the " Raiidbook " as black ; but, as a matter of fact, they are 

 purple when ripe, as shown in our plate. In the Middle Island the Kaikomako is often 

 confounded by the settlers ^Y\i\\ the Ribbon Wood trees, {Hoheria populnea, and its 

 varieties,) they being very similar in general appearance. The foliage of the Pemiantia 

 in its young state is small and rounded ; but, as the tree matures, the leaves assume an 

 oblong character, measuring nearly three inches in length. The wood has no specific 

 value, nor is the tree known to possess any medicinal properties. In suitable localities 

 it should prove a very graceful addition to shrubberies and hedgerows as an ornamental 

 tree. 



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