Common Name: Totara

General Information

Podocarpus totara is an evergreen tree that can grow up to 30 metres tall. The bole can be up to 200cm in diameter[, ]. In its early stages the tree forms a spreading, bushy and attractive tree. As it gains height it acquires a massive trunk and branches that bear dense foliage. Older trees become more open in habit and the top tends to die back. Enormous roots spread out over the ground at the base of the trunk[].
The tree was a very important component of Maori life, providing food, medicine and a range of materials. The tree became a much-exploited commercial timber, but is now protected and is regenerating. It is cultivated on a small scale as a timber crop and is also sometimes grown as an ornamental.
At present, native trees are virtually universally protected in New Zealand and the exploitation of the wood of Totara is much restricted, essentially to dead trees outside reserves, and put to specialist wood work only. The historical decline, while partly irreversible due to land use changes, has now turned into an increase in many of the forests where Podocarpus totara was logged in the past. This will in due course result in an increase in mature trees. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

Superficially similar to Taxus species, but this plant is definitely not poisonous[].

Botanical References

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Range

New Zealand - North, South and Stewart Islands

Habitat

Lowland, montane and sub-alpine forest[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	30.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Pollinators	Wind
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Based on data from 431 collection localities, the climate preferences of Podocarpus totara include a mean annual temperature of 12°c, with an average minimum in the coldest month of 3°c, and a mean annual precipitation of 1,880mm[]. Plants are somewhat frost hardy, tolerating temperatures down to between -6.6°c and -1.1°c[]. Plants have succeeded in Suffolk and Argyll as well as in southern and western Britain but it is only in Cornwall and Ireland that plants achieve the stature of trees[, ]. A tree at Trebah gardens in Cornwall was 16 metres tall in 1959[].
Prefers a rich moist non-alkaline soil, succeeding in full sun or in partial shade[].
Plants are fairly slow growing with an average increase in height around 20cm a year in Cornwall[].
A very long-lived tree, with specimens in the wild over 1,000 years old[].
Cultivated as a timber tree in New Zealand[].
The totara is the largest known tree in the Podocarpaceae. A tree called Pouakani, near Mangapehi in King Country, Southern Waikato, New Zealand, is 388 cm dbh and 42.7 metres tall, with an estimated wood volume of 203.7 cubic metres[].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[].
A dioecious species - both male and female forms must be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[, , , ]. Sweet and juicy but there is a hint of turpentine in its flavour, especially if it is not fully ripe[]. The fruit is about 6mm in diameter[]. The 'fruit' is actually a succulent, swollen, fruit-like stalk[].

Medicinal

The boiled bark has been used in the treatment of fevers[].
The inner bark is boiled with mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium), the liquid is kept in bottle for week untill it becomes sweetish and is then used as a febrifuge[].
The dry, outer bark is used to make splints[].

An infusion of the bitter leaves is used in the treatment of stomach troubles[].

The wood smoke is allowed to flow over the affected areas in order to treat skin diseases and women's venereal disease[].

Agroforestry Uses:

Although eventually growing to a large tree if left alone, it can be planted and trimmed for hedges[].

Other Uses

The bark is skilfully made up into neat vessels for holding and carrying of water[]. Bark much used as a covering for houses[]
The dry inner bark (rangiura) is used to make a scoop or short handled shovel[].
Vessels called papa and patua made of tōtara bark; papa contained preserved birds, patua - water; also used for stone boiling[].
The thin bark is used in the construction of wooden trumpets, pūkāea and is sometimes used to make gongs[].

Hollow trees were used as gongs - often as part of a warning system[]

The wood is used for the hard stick when making fire by friction[].

The reddish wood is straight grained. A dense, hard wood, it is very durable, lasting a long time in water, though it can be brittle. Easily worked, it is used for construction work, fence posts, railway sleepers, joinery, furniture and cabinet making[, , , , , , ]. The wood was traditionally used for making houses, canoes[].

Propagation

The seed can be sown at any time of the year in a sandy soil in a warm greenhouse, though it is probably best sown as soon as it is ripe[]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe terminal shoots, 5 - 10cm long, mid summer in a frame[].