70 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND 



with the weeping, copper-tinted branches below, and ordinary 

 upright ones above. These are generally young trees of from 

 ten to twenty years old. 



At a certain time of the year the matai trunks present a" 

 brilliant appearance. Where the bark peels off, bright scarlet 

 or crimson patches appear below, and a tree thus scaled is a 

 beautiful object. 



The wood of this tree is of great value, but is very slow in 

 growth. It is often used for the floors of ballrooms, skating 

 rinks, etc., as it takes an excellent polish, and can be made to 

 reflect almost like a looking-glass. One curious fact in 

 connection with this timber is, that it will lie prostrate in the 

 bush for years without decaying. Mr. Buchanan tells of a 

 prostrate matai over which three broadleaf trees (Griselinia 

 littoralis) had grown, enfolding it with their roots. These trees 

 were calculated to be over 300 years old, yet the matai was 

 perfectly sound, and was split up for fencing posts. Another 

 was discovered with a fuchsia stem nine inches in diameter 

 growing across it. 



One would not at first sight, imagine the matai to be one of 

 the Coniferae, as its leaves are flat rather than needle-shaped, 

 and its fruit is like a small black plum, containing only one 

 seed. The cotyledons, also, are two in number, as in any 

 broad-leaved tree. The shape of the mature tree is not conical 

 like that of a pine, but spreading, after the fashion of an 

 ordinary dicotyledon. 



Podocarpus dacrydioides (The Dacrydium-Uke Podocarpus or 



WUte Pine.) 



Native name, Kahikatea. The following, probably fanciful, derivation has 

 been given of this name : tea, whitish, from the colour of the wood, and kahika, 

 an ancient chief. 



The Nga-potiki Maoris tell a pretty story concerning the 

 origin of this stately tree. It is said that a chief named 

 Pou-ranga-hua was once blown out to sea in his canoe and 

 cast ashore upon a strange island. The name of this island 



