‘LITSEA CALICARIS, Bentham and Hooker f, 
ca 
THE MANGEAO. 
OrpbER—LAURINEA-, 
Plate X. 
THE mangeao or tangeao, as it is termed indifferently by the Maoris, was dis- 
covered by Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Solander during Cook’s first voyage, and 
at a later date was described by Allan Cunningham under the name of Laurus 
calicaris ; it is most generally known in the colony as Tetranthera calicaris, the 
name adopted by Sir Joseph Hooker in the original ‘‘ Flora of New Zealand.” 
The genus Tetranthera having been merged in Litsea by Bentham and Hooker f., 
the latter name is adopted in this work. . 
Litsea calicaris is an erect evergreen tree peculiar to the Auckland District, 
and attains from 3oft. to 4oft. in height, with a trunk rdft. to 23ft. in diameter, 
clothed with brownish-grey bark, and giving off rather short branches, which form 
a small round head when growing under conditions which allow of their free 
development, but when growing in woods the trunk is nearly naked and the head 
very small. 
The leaves are from 3in. to 4in. long, and at first of a delicate brown tint, 
which gradually passes into a dull green: their texture is thin, and firm, although 
not coriaceous: they are sometimes white or glaucous beneath. The male and 
female flowers are produced on separate trees, often in great profusion; their 
cream-coloured perianths render the tree somewhat conspicuous during the 
months of September and October. 
PROPERTIES AND USES. 
From experiments made in Sydney the specific gravity of this timber 
appears to be ‘621, and its weight per cubic foot 38°7olb.; it is white, firm, 
strong, and of great elasticity, and is suitable for a great variety of purposes 
requiring strength, toughness, and elasticity, with a light weight. From the 
earliest period of settlement it has been highly valued for coopers’ ware and 
bullock-yokes, and for the last ten or twelve years has been extensively used 
in the manufacture of ships’ blocks, for which it is esteemed superior to English 
ash. It is now largely employed for coach-panels, shafts, light felloes, and 
wheelwrights’ bent-stuff generally; but for some time past the demand has 
exceeded the supply, which has led to the use of taraire as a substitute: a 
course which is not unlikely to bring mangeao into disrepute. 
The mangeao is of exceptionally slow growth, but the delicate tints of its 
foliage when first expanded render it worthy of a place in all collections of 
ornamental trees. 
DISTRIBUTION OF THE GENUS. 
As now constituted Litsea includes about 140 species distributed through 
tropical and eastern Asia, the Malay Archipelago, Japan, Australia, New 
Caledonia, and North America. JL. calicaris is the only species found in New 
Zealand. 
