Veronica stricta var. stricta < Species index >
This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 94, # 4, May 2022
May in the hills with Michele Dickson, Chris Horne
Weinmannia racemosa, Kāmahi, tawheo, tawhero, tawherowhero,
Photo: Jeremy Rolfe
Origin of the botanical names
‘Weinmannia’ is named after the Bavarian apothecary Johann Wilhelm Weinmann (1683-1741); ‘racemosa’ comes from the Latin word ‘racemus’ meaning bunch of grapes or fruit, referring to the flowers arranged in racemes. Some botanists have recently placed the two New Zealand species of Weinmannia in the genus Pterophylla. Kāmahi is one of the three New Zealand members of the family Cunoniaceae, the other two being found only in the north of the North Island.
Distribution and habitat
Kāmahi is endemic to Aotearoa. It is found on Te Ika a Māui / North Island from South Waikato southwards, on Te Waipounamu / South Island and Rakiura / Stewart Island. It is one of our most common forest trees, often becoming locally dominant at higher altitudes of the North Island and western South Island. At lower altitudes, it can be common to sea level, found in many different forest types and establishes early in regenerating areas.
Growth habit
Kāmahi is a tree up to 25 m or more tall. Its trunk is up to 1.2 m in diameter, with usually smooth greyish bark, and sometimes it has multiple trunks. It often begins life as a seedling on a tree fern's fibrous trunk. The ovate-elliptic leaves are opposite, 3-10 x 2-4 cm, single on adult plants, slightly leathery and coarsely serrate. They are deep green, sometimes mildly tinged with yellow or bronze when young. Leaf stalks are up to 2 cm. The juvenile leaves, seedling leaves and often those of new shoots are 3-lobed or 3-foliate and smaller.
Reproduction
The numerous small flowers are white or pale pink. They are arranged on finger-like spikes 8-12 cm long and have both male and female parts. The male parts (stamens) are protruding, 8 -10 per flower and up to 1 cm long, giving the spike a mini-bottle-brush appearance. A range of insects and birds are attracted to the flowers. The fruits are dry capsules 4-5 mm long, cylindrical, grey at first then becoming brown. Capsules split open at maturity releasing numerous seeds, 1.0-1.5 mm long, elliptic-oblong, orange-brown, apices bearing dense hair tufts that aid wind dispersal. Flowering is from July to January and fruiting is from October to May.
Uses
Māori used the inner bark which was boiled or steeped in hot water to make an antiseptic tonic used for healing wounds and burns. Other parts were used to make a drink for chest complaints. Tannic acid in the bark was used by tanners for dyeing. Māori used the wood to make beaters and tool handles. The timber, a less durable hardwood, has been used in cabinet making and ornamental work as well as treated timber for fence posts, sleepers, house blocks and wharf piles. Try kāmahi honey!
Where can you find kāmahi?
Look for kāmahi in Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush, Zealandia's Fuchsia Track, East Harbour Regional Park, Hutt Valley hills and in the Remutaka, Akatarawa and Tararua ranges.
In The Hills 2022-04 < Index chronological > In The Hills 2022-06