DACRYDIUM WESTLANDICUM, T. Kirk. 
THE WESTLAND PINE. 
OrdDER—CONIFERA. 
TRIBE—TAXE-®. 
(Plate LXXXV.) 
Tue Westland pine is frequently termed ‘ silver-pine”’ or “ white silver-pine,”’ 
but does not appear to have been specially distinguished by the Maoris. Itisa 
recent addition to the New Zealand flora, having been described in 1876, 
although the great value of its timber had been recognised on the west coast of 
the South Island from its earliest settlement. 
It is usually a conical tree, from 4goft. to soft. high, with lax slender 
branches; trunk from 14ft. to 24ft. in diameter, clothed with light-grey even 
bark: trunks from 3ft. to 4ft. in diameter are occasionally met with: the 
branches are short, but the branchlets are excessively numerous, and are often 
arranged in a fan-shaped manner. The leaves are of varied forms: in the 
young state they are from Hin. to $in. long, linear or three-sided, and of soft 
texture: these become gradually shorter, triangular, and flat (Fig. 5), and pass 
by almost insensible gradations into the mature state, when they are minute, 
rigid, and broadly triangular, shehtly overlapping each other, and the branchlets 
are about the thickness of fine whipcord. 
The male and female flowers are alike developed at the tips of branchlets: 
the former are arranged in short catkins jin. to ~yin. long, solitary, each 
consisting of from five to eight anthers. The female flowers are usually solitary 
or in pairs, each consisting of a single ovule at the base of a coriaceous 
receptacle, by which it is completely surrounded. After fertilisation the ovule 
grows rapidly, so that it soon rises above the receptacle, which becomes still 
thicker, but is always green, and at length forms a shallow cup split on one side. 
When ripe the fruit is cylindrical, about .%in. long, black and shining, but 
without any trace of a membranous envelope at the base. 
PROPERTIES AND UsEs. 
Although not of large dimensions, the Westland pine is one of the most 
valuable timbers in the colony on account of its extreme durability. It is 
straight and even in the grain, dense, firm, and compact, yet of low specific 
gravity: it is of great strength, toughness, and elasticity: it is highly resinous, 
and shrinks but little while seasoning. It is at first white, but assumes a 
yellowish tint with a satiny lustre, and takes a high finish. 
Specimens with “mottled”? wood are occasionally found, and approach the 
highly-prized mottled kauri of the North in beauty: waved or fieured wood is 
not infrequent. 
It is used extensively by the cabinetmaker, and seems suitable for the 
manufacture of agricultural implements, as it shrinks but little, even if used 
before being fully seasoned. It has been used in bridges, wharves, and other 
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