Page created 16 Nov 1996
Updated 22 NOv 1996
Scientific species name: Rhopalostylis sapida
Rhopalostylis because the style (female flower part) is club shaped; sapida meaning savoury because the expanded central leaf bud was once used for food. However, taking this bud kills the plant. (1)
Family: The nikau belongs to the large, mainly tropical, palm family (Palmae) and is the southern most palm in the world. There are only three species of Rhopalostylis, one confined to New Zealand proper, one (Rhopalostylis cheesemanii, named after the botanist Cheeseman) to the Kermadec Islands and the last species to Norfolk Island.
Maori name (s): Nikau (meaning many leaves coming from the same stalk).(4)
Common name(s): Nikau, cabbage palm, palm cabbage.
Description: Older nikau have a smooth circular trunk, ringed with roughly evenly spaced scars from fallen leaves. It is very seldom that nikau trees are branched. The leaves show its palm origin and are up to 3 m long (there are offshore varieties that have leaves up to 5 m long). The leaf bases are large and encircle the trunk completely (which is why the leaf scars go right around the trunk). The number of leaf scars do not tell you how old the tree is.
The flowers develop under the outermost leaf bases, clearly visible as a bulge. When the leaf falls off the inflorescence (a specialised branching stem bearing flowers) is exposed. It is encased in two boat-shaped envelopes which quickly fall off. The spadex (a special sort of inflorescence because it is a fleshy branch) expands and first the male flowers open and later the female flowers (see (1) for a good description). Insects are probably the main pollinators, but nectar eating birds, such as tuis, bellbirds and silvereyes, don't turn their noses (or should that be beaks) up at the thought of nikau nectar either. Flowers occur throughout the entire year but are most common in spring and summer in Auckland.
The small (usually 1 cm but up to 2 cm long) oval fruits consist of a thin flesh layer over a hard seed and take slightly less than one year to develop from flowers into fruits. They are red when ripe, and very popular with native pigeons and other birds (especially in spring or during egg laying because nikau seed are high in calcium) even though there isn't much flesh on the fruit. There usually is some ripe fruit throughout the year, but is very hard to find any ripe fruit in spring because the birds eat it as soon as it is ripe.
Distribution: Low and montane (lower mountains) forests along the coast from North Cape to Banks Peninsula and to Hokitika. Also found on Chatham Islands.
Uses: The old time Maori used nikau leaves as thatching for the roof and walls of the whare (house). A whare build with a manuka stick framework and nikau thatching is supposedly as strong and watertight as if made of iron. The leaves were also woven into baskets and kits.(2) Nikau leaves still make good thatching for bush shelters and the padding in a camp mattress.(4)
The central, unexpanded, leaf bud (called rito (6)) at the top of the tree was also very popular with Maori as food, either raw or cooked, unfortunately it does kill the tree(2) (which is why early settlers called it millionaire's salad (4)). Young flower buds were also eaten.(5) The leaves were used to wrap kiore rats and other food prior to cooking in a hangi.(3)
The pith (central core of the tree) was a slight laxative and was eaten by pregnant women to relax pelvic muscles, and the sap was drunk as a further aid to ease the labours in childbirth.(4)
References:
(1) Audrey Eagle (1978) Eagle's 100 trees of New Zealand.
(2) Muriel Fisher, E. Satchell & Janet Watkins (1985) Gardening with New Zealand plants, shrubs & trees.
(3) R.C. Cooper & R.C. Cambie (1991) New Zealand's economic native plants.
(4) Christina Macdonald (1979) Medicines of the Maori.
(5) Alison Evans & Stephen Barnett (1987) New Zealand in flower.
(6) Elsdon Best (1977) Forest lore of the Maori.
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