CORYNOCARPUS LAVIGATA, Forster. 
THE KARAKA. 
7 OrdDER—ANACARDIACEE, 
(Plate LXXXVIII.) 
Tue bold glossy foliage of the karaka renders it a striking object at all times, 
but when its large fruits are fully ripe the contrast beween the dark deep green 
of the leaves and the bright-orange colour of the fruits renders it one of the 
most attractive trees of the New Zealand flora. It is interesting, moreover, 
. as being one of the few trees cultivated by the Maoris for food, and none the 
less on account of its affording a deadly poison. 
- Corynocarpus levigata is an evergreen tree, from 25ft. to soft. high, with a 
fa trunk from 1}{t. to 2}ft. in diameter, but larger specimens are not infrequent, 
The leaves are alternate, from 3in. to 7in. long and from 2in. to 3in. broad ; 
-" they are carried on short leaf-stalks, and are very glossy. The flowers are 4in. 
in diameter, of a gteenish-white tint, and are developed in erect terminal 
panicles, from 3in. to 5in. high. The flowers are shortly stalked, and may be 
solitary or crowded: the calyx is five-lobed, the lobes slightly overlapping, and 
“the corolla consists of five narrow free whitish petals inserted at the base of the 
~ ealyx-lobes; the stamens equal the petals, and are inserted between the lobes 
* of a fleshy disc, each lobe being tipped with a narrow, jagged, petal-like process, 
at first sight presenting the appearance of an inner series of petals. ‘The ovary 
is ovoid, with a short straight style and rounded stigma. The fruit is of a 
bright-orange colour, tin. long or more, and varying in shape: it has an outer 
pulpy layer, and in general structure resembles a small plum; but the hard stony 
layer which envelops the seed of the plum is wanting, and is represented by < 
tough fibrous network, which adheres closely to the solitary seed. 
. a. 
4 
PROPERTIES AND USEs. 
4 The wood is white and easily split, but is very perishable, and of little value 
except for firewood. The leaves are greedily eaten by horses and cattle: their 
value for this purpose has led to the tree being almost extirpated in districts 
where it was once plentiful. The pulpy layer of the fruit was formerly eaten by 
the Maoris, especially in seasons of scarcity; and the seeds, after prolonged 
soaking or steaming, formed one of their most valued articles of food, although 
in the crude state they are highly poisonous, causing spasmodic contraction and 
rigidity of the muscles. 
Mr. Skey, the Colonial Analyst, finds the poisonous principle to reside in an 
essential oil, which is intensely bitter, and which, under treatment, crystallizes 
out in beautifully-radiatinge acicular forms. He has appropriately named this 
bitter principle of the karaka “ karakine.’’* 
Mr. Colenso’s account of the collection and preparation of the nuts and the 
action of the poison is so interesting that I venture to transcribe it at length, 
* Trans. N.Z. Inst,, iv,, p. 319. 
