Taraire, Beilschmiedia tarairi, is a tree of the Lauraceae family, endemic to the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It is a common canopy tree in lowland forests north of Auckland, often growing in association with kauri (Agathis australis

Agathis australis

Agathis australis, commonly known as the kauri, is a coniferous tree found north of 38°S in the northern districts of New Zealand's North Island. It is the largest but not tallest species of tree in New Zealand, standing up to 50 m tall in the emergent layer above the forest's main canopy. The...

), pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), tawapou (Pouteria costata

Pouteria costata

Pouteria costata is a small coastal tree native to the northern North Island and to Norfolk Island . In New Zealand, its common name is Tawapou ; on Norfolk Island it is called Bastard Ironwood. The name costata is from the Latin costatus , a reference to the prominently raised primary nerves of...

), and with pūriri (Vitex lucens) on basalt rocks and soils. Beilschmiedia is a genus of about 40 mainly tropical trees and shrubs with alterate to opposite leaves.

Distribution

Taraire only occurs in the North Island north of 38°S latitude. It is most common north of Auckland and Thames at about 37°S. However scattered populations of the tree occur on the west coast between Port Waikato

Port Waikato

Port Waikato is on the south bank of the Waikato River at its outflow into the Tasman Sea, in northern New Zealand. Now a small town with a population of under 300, it was an important port during the New Zealand Land Wars of the 19th century...

 and the Kawhia Harbour

Kawhia Harbour

Kawhia Harbour is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwest of Hamilton...

, and inland at Pukemokemoke. On the east it occurs in scattered locations to East Cape.

Description

Taraire grows up to 22 m in height, and has a very wide crown. The trunk may be up to 1 m in diameter. The bark is dark brown, and smooth. The branches are stout, and tend to spread widely. Fine reddish brown hairs densely cover the branchlets, young leaves, leaf stems and young flower buds. The dark green leaves, which are generally between 50 and 72 mm long, and 34 to 48 mm wide, are alternate, leathery, and simple, with depressed veins. The leaf stems are 8 to 12 mm long. The inflorescence is an erect panicle up to 100 mm long arising from the leaf axils. Flowering occurs between September and December, with a peak in November. The greenish flowers are 3–5 mm in diameter and often clothed in dense reddish-brown hairs. The fruit is an erect, elliptical to ovoid drupe about 30 by 16mm, dark purple when ripe, and covered in a waxy bloom. It contains one seed. Fruits ripen between March and November, and are a favorite food of the kererū

Kereru

The New Zealand Pigeon or kererū is a bird endemic to New Zealand. Māori call it Kererū in most of the country but kūkupa and kūkū in some parts of the North Island, particularly in Northland...

 (New Zealand Pigeon).

Taraire is a very distinct species of tropical appearance whose broad, dark-green, leaves with their distinctive depressed veins, and large, erect plum-like dark purple fruits distinguish it from all other indigenous trees and shrubs of New Zealand. Taraire is one of three endemic Beilschmiedia species in New Zealand. The others are the common canopy tree tawa

Tawa (tree)

The Tawa tree is a New Zealand broadleaf tree common in the central parts of the country. Tawa is often the dominant canopy species in lowland forests in the North Island and the north east of the South Island, but will also often form the subcanopy in primary forests throughout the country in...

, (B. tawa), which has thin willow-like leaves, and the tawaroa (B. tawaroa) which is similar to tawa but has broader leaves.

Propagation and conservation

Propagation is easy from fresh seed, and better germination results if the flesh surrounding the seed is removed. It is not regarded as threatened, but future dispersal may be limited because the increasingly rare New Zealand pigeon is the only species which can disperse the large seeds of the taraire, which pass through its gut unharmed.

Uses

The wood of the taraire is straight-grained but brittle and prone to split, and is not durable when exposed to the elements. It has been used for flooring, light carts, furniture, picture frames, ship's blocks, and firewood.