Dacrycarpus - Dacryberry, Kahikatea
Stock photos of Dacryberry or Kahikatea (plants of the genus Dacrycarpus), a genus of 9 species of evergreen conifers of the podocarp family (Podocarpaceae) found from Malaysia and the Philippines to New Caledonia and Fiji and in New Zealand. It is the New Zealand species, Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, that is perhaps the best known. Commonly known as Kahikatea or White Pine it is a heavily buttressed tree, up to 65m tall, usually found in wetlands fairly near the coast. Regrettably, it is now not easy to find anywhere as except for a few remnants, mainly on the South Island's West Coast and at Riccarton Bush in Christchurch, most of the trees were felled long ago. Even more regrettably, the timber was not used for anything long-lasting or grand — it is a soft wood that rots quickly — but for producing boxes in which to export slabs of butter. Probably more kahikatea has rotted away in British backyards than could now be found in New Zealand.
|
