POHUTIKAWA 



Bark. Whitish externally, red or brown beneath with a pur- 

 plish cast : £-£ inch thick, compact, fibrous : scaling in papery 

 flakes. 



Uses, etc. Very hard to work. " One of the strongest woods 

 In existence, . . . logs may be had 20-50 ft. long by 1-4 ft. 

 in diam. ... its durability is astounding, ... shipbuilding, 

 sleepers, railway-carriage building, bridges, wharves and all 

 purposes where great strength is required, . . . spokes, hubs, 

 felloes and wheelwright's work " (91). 



Authorities. Perceval (91), pp. 11, 14, 44. Smith (in), p. 347. 



Colour. " Red, varying greatly in depth of tint " (91). No 

 distinction between sap-wood and heart-wood or they gradually 

 merge one into the other. 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section. 



Pores. Very readily perceptible, occasionally prominent on 

 account of their white contents : size 3-4, little variation if any : 

 few 10-25 P er s 1- mm - : thinly scattered, but rather more 

 numerous in certain zones (? Spring wood) : a tendency to very 

 loose oblique lines, mostly single and seldom in contact with each 

 other : frequently with chalk-like contents. 



Rays. Need lens, size 5-6, uniform : equidistant, a pore- 

 width apart, scarcely avoiding the pores : weak but straight : 

 slightly lighter than the ground-tissue : many 10-14 P er mm - 



Rings. Extremely vague, perhaps indicated by an occasional 

 pore-less zone. 



Soft-tissue. Rare : an extremely fine border encircling the 

 pores, scarcely perceptible. Lines connecting the pores (if any) 

 imperceptible with lens. 



Pith. ? 



Radial Section. Pores readily visible, rather fine scratches, 

 often with white contents : rays just perceptible fine brown lines 

 on a planed surface : rings and soft-tissue not perceptible. 



Tangential Section. As the Radial, but the rays are scarcely 

 visible fine fines but with the microscope they look like chains 

 of fine brown dots : an unusual" appearance. Rings traceable 

 as vague fringes and loops of pore-less wood. 



Type specimens authenticated by the Forest Officer to the 

 Government of New Zealand. 



No. 113. POHUTIKAWA. Metrosideros tomentosa. 



A. Rich. 

 Plate VIII. Fig. 70. 



Natural Order. Myrtaceae. 



Source of Supply. New Zealand only. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight 53J-65 lbs. 



131 



