Page created 22 Nov 1996
Page updated 16 Jan 1997
Scientific species name: Dysoxylum spectabile
Dysoxylum comes from the Greek and means sour or acid, alluding to the bitter substance in the leaves.(3) Spectabile means beautiful.(2)
Family: Meliaceae is family of fifty genera and about 550 species of trees and shrubs, found mainly in tropical America and tropical Asia. This family includes the various species of mahogany.(1) There are about 120 species of Dysoxylum with only one endemic (found no where else) to New Zealand. Some of the Dysoxylum species have a strong garlic smell.(2)(3)
Maori name (s): Kohekohe
Common name(s): Kohekohe, New Zealand mahogany(3), New Zealand cedar(4)
Description: Kohekohe is a beautiful tree when it is not ravaged by possum. It has rounded canopy of large leaves, 30 to 50 cm long, made of 5 to 9 leaflets along a stalk (this is called a compound leaf). There is always one leaflet at the tip (this is called pinnate) and the other leaflets are in pairs. The leaflets are 13 to 18 cm long with wavy edges and a dark green upper surface and lighter green on the lower.
The orchid-like white waxy flowers appear during May and June (in Auckland) on long streamers (called panicles), which can be up to 60 cm in some cases, directly from the branches and the trunk. This is quite unusual, most trees flower around the leaves in the outer portion of the canopy. The flowers are scented and contain a reasonable amount of nectar. Birds such as tuis, bellbirds, stitchbirds and silvereyes enjoy the nectar, but it is not sure if birds, insects, nocturnal moths or bats are the main pollinators. It could even be a combination of all of these.
The fruit takes nearly a year to develop and is also very interesting. It is ripe during April and May (in Auckland) and consists of round green seedcapsules, up to 5 cm in diameter, that split open to reveal up to four bright orange fleshy fruits. Each of these fruits can have one, two or sometimes three seeds in it. The orange fruits are very popular with birds and tend to be eaten as soon as the seed capsule opens. On one occasion I saw two native pigeon and five tuis in the same kohekohe at the same time, and they were all too busy eating to fight like they ususally do. Kohekohe is a very important food source because it has both ripe fruits and flowers during the winter. In seasons of kohekohe shortage it is very hard to find any ripe kohekohe fruit because it is eaten as soon as it is ripe.
Regretfully, possums also like kohekohe. They eat flowerbuds, open flowers, immature and ripe fruit and the leaves as well. Possums also have the unfortunate habit of totally stripping one tree of leaves before moving to the next tree, this kills kohekohe trees within a couple of years. (Have a look at the picture on my homepage to see evidence of possum damage on kohekohe trees). No kohekohe means no food for birds and other animals during winter, when there is very little food to be found anyway.
Distribution: Kohekohe used to be very wide spread before the introduction of possums. It could be found in both the North and South Islands in coastal and lowland forest from North Cape to the Marlborough Sounds. It is absent from the eastern portion of the North Island from Napier South.(2)
Uses: There is a bit of conflict about the water worthiness of kohekohe. In Muriel FisherŐs book (3) the maori thought higly of kohekohe because of it water-worthiness. A brave man could be likened to the swift and strong kohekohe canoe. While Murdoch Riley (5) has maori quotations indicating that the soft kohekohe wood would rapidly become waterlogged and sink when made into a canoe. Settlers also used the wood for fencing posts, particularly in loose sand.(3) The tough red wood takes a high polish and is a favourite wood with cabinet and furniture makers.(4)
The bitter young leaves were used to make a tonic for stomach disorders. Infusions of leaves were used for coughing and lung disorders and the vapours from infusions inhaled for colds and fevers. Boiled leaves used as a poultice. In all cases the leaves must be picked from side of tree that faces the sun.
The pulp of the inner bark was used as a gargle for sore throats and as a wash for boils. There is some indication that kohekohe was used as an antidote to poisoning by eating raw karaka kernels, or at least to straighten the limbs before death.(4)
References:
(1) J.T. Salmon (1989) The native trees of New Zealand.
(2) Audrey Eagle (1978) Eagle's 100 trees of New Zealand
(3) Muriel Fisher, E. Satchell & Janet Watkins (1985) Gardening with New Zealand plants, shrubs & trees.
(4) Christina Macdonald (1979) Medicines of the Maori.
(5) Murdoch Riley (1994) Maori healing and herbal. New Zealand ethnobotanical sourcebook.
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