Editing Podocarpus totara

{{Short description|Species of conifer}}
{{About||other plant species also known as tōtara|List of plants known as tōtara|}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2015}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Tōtara
| image = Pouakani,_the_famous_giant_tōtara.jpg
|image_caption= A tōtara in Mangakino, New Zealand
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Farjon, A. |date=2013 |title=''Podocarpus totara'' |volume=2013 |page=e.T42537A2985842 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42537A2985842.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Podocarpus
| species =  totara
| authority = [[G.Benn.]] ex [[David Don|D.Don]]
}}

'''''Podocarpus totara''''' ({{IPAc-en|"|t|oU|t|@|r|@}}),<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Chambers Dictionary|publisher=Chambers|year=2003|isbn=0-550-10105-5|edition=9th|chapter=totara}}</ref> commonly known as the '''{{lang|mi|tōtara}}''', is a species of [[Podocarpus|podocarp]] tree [[endemism|endemic]] to New Zealand. It grows throughout the [[North Island]], [[South Island]] and rarely on [[Stewart Island|Stewart Island / Rakiura]] in lowland, montane and lower subalpine forest at elevations of up to {{convert|600|m|abbr=off}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Podocarpus totara var. totara |url=https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/podocarpus-totara-var-totara/ |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=New Zealand Plant Conservation Network |language=en}}</ref>

Tōtara is commonly found in lowland areas where the soil is fertile and well drained.<ref name="Te Ara">{{cite web|title=Story: Conifers – Tōtara group|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/conifers/4|publisher=Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand|access-date=30 September 2012}}</ref> Its [[Māori language|Māori]] name comes from the [[Proto-Polynesian language|Proto-Polynesian]] word *''tootara'' (related to the word ''tara'' lit. '[[thorns, spines and prickles|thorn]]') which when passed down to descendant languages refer to spiny creatures, especially the [[Spot-fin porcupinefish|porcupinefish]] (''Diodon hystrix'') due to its spiky leaves.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tōtara|website=Te Māra Reo |url=http://www.temarareo.org/PPN-Totara.html |access-date=2024-02-11 |publisher=Benton Family Trust|first=R. A.|last=Benton|year=2010}}</ref> The spelling "totara" without the [[Macron (diacritic)|''tohutō'']] is also common in English.

==Description==
The tōtara is a medium to large [[tree]], which grows slowly to around {{convert|20 to 25|m|abbr=off}} exceptionally to {{convert|35|m|abbr=on}}; it is noted for its longevity and the great [[Tree girth measurement|girth]] of its trunk. The [[Bark (botany)|bark]] peels off in papery flakes, with a purplish to golden brown hue. The sharp, dull-green, needle-like [[leaf|leaves]] are stiff and leathery, {{convert|2|cm|abbr=on}} long. This plant produces highly modified [[Conifer cone|cones]] with two to four fused, fleshy, berry-like, juicy scales, bright red when mature. The cone contains one or two rounded [[seed]]s at the apex of the scales.
[[File:Largest_known_living_tōtara,_the_Pouakani_Tree.jpg|thumb|Largest known living tōtara, the Pouakani Tree]]
[[File:Podocarpus totara Weheka MRD.jpg|thumb|A tōtara regenerating on farmland, Cook Flat, West Coast]]
The largest known living tōtara, the Pouakani Tree, near [[Pureora Forest Park|Pureora]] in the central North Island, is over {{convert|35|m|abbr=on}} tall and nearly {{convert|4|m|abbr=on}} in trunk diameter at breast height.<ref name="totara-history">{{cite book |last1=Simpson |first1=Philip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zz8oDwAAQBAJ&dq=Podocarpus+totara&pg=PT725 |title=Totara: A Natural and Cultural History |date=19 June 2017 |publisher=Auckland University Press |isbn=978-1-77558-915-0 |language=en}}</ref> Bushmen discovered it in 1950.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GISH19501031.2.41|title=News of the Day GISBORNE HERALD|date=31 Oct 1950|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz|access-date=2020-03-29}}</ref> Other large trees are known in this area, while Whirinaki Forest, to the east, but also on deep recent volcanic soils, has groves of very tall tōtara (over {{convert|40|m|abbr=on}} in height).

Tōtara is often found regenerating on farmland, as it is not eaten by livestock.<ref name="Te Ara" />

== Varieties ==
The two varieties of tōtara are:<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q63848025|title=Eagle's complete trees and shrubs of New Zealand volume one|last=Eagle|first=Audrey|publisher=Te Papa Press|year=2008|isbn=9780909010089|location=Wellington|pages=8|language=en}}</ref>

* ''P. t.'' var. ''totara''
* ''P. t.'' var. ''waihoensis''

==Related trees==
In a classic example of [[Antarctic flora]] species-pair the tōtara is very closely related to ''[[Podocarpus nubigenus]]'' from [[South America]], to the extent that if planted together, they are very difficult to distinguish. The best distinction is the grey-green tone of the leaves, compared to the slightly brighter green of ''P. nubigenus''.

==Cultivation==
[[File:Prouse Bush Totara.jpg|thumb|Trunk of a tōtara tree (''P. totara'') in Prouse Bush, Levin, New Zealand]]
Tōtara grows easily from fresh seed and [[cutting (plant)|cuttings]].<ref name=nzpcn>{{cite web|title=Podocarpus totara var. totara|url=http://nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.asp?ID=1176|publisher=New Zealand Plant Conservation Network|access-date=23 September 2012}}</ref>  It has been planted in the United Kingdom as far north as [[Inverewe Garden|Inverewe]], [[Scotland]].<ref name="Royal Horticultural Society">{{cite web|url=http://www.rhs.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/831C8FEF-445C-4FA3-8951-AA257A07F238/0/halfhardytrees.pdf |title=''Half-hardy trees in Britain and Ireland – part two'' |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society |access-date=2009-06-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303214730/http://www.rhs.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/831C8FEF-445C-4FA3-8951-AA257A07F238/0/halfhardytrees.pdf |archive-date=March 3, 2009 }}</ref>

Several cultivars for garden use have been introduced. These include 'Albany Gold' and 'Aurea', both have yellow 'gold' foliage that darkens in winter; 'Pendula', which has a weeping growth habit that is especially pronounced in young plants; 'Silver Falls', also pendulous but with cream-edged foliage; and 'Matapouri Blue', which has a conical form and glaucous foliage.

==Human use==
The [[wood]] is hard, straight-grained, and very resistant to rot, especially its [[heartwood]]. Due to its durability, tōtara wood was often used for fence posts, floor pilings, and railway sleepers. It is also prized for its carving properties, and was the primary wood used in [[Māori culture|Māori]] carving. It was the primary wood used to make [[Waka (canoe)|''waka'']] (canoes) in traditional Māori boat building due to its relatively light weight (about 25% lighter than [[kauri]]), long, straight lengths, and natural oils in the wood that help prevent rotting. Tōtara could be drilled with chert points to make holes near the edges of the timber without splitting. In larger tōtara ''waka'', three or more sections were laced together with flax rope. A tōtara ''waka'' took at least a year to make using stone adzes.

Bark from tōtara is used to cover and protect traditional [[pōhā]] bags.<ref name="Landcare1">{{Cite web|url=https://maoriplantuse.landcareresearch.co.nz/WebForms/PeoplePlantsDetails.aspx?firstcome=firstcome&PKey=FB454C7E-CB0C-4D98-9F97-1E9D14D3A080|title=Landcare Research Manaaki Whenua: Māori Plant Use|website=[[Landcare Research|Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research]]|language=en-nz|access-date=21 November 2019}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
image:PodocarpusTotara.jpg|Receptacle and seed of tōtara
image:PodocarpusTotaraBark.jpg|The reddish-grey bark of the tōtara is thick, corky, furrowed and stringy
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons|Podocarpus totara}}
{{Wikispecies|Podocarpus totara}}
* {{cite iucn |author=Farjon, A. |date=2013 |title=''Podocarpus totara'' |volume=2013 |page=e.T42537A2985842 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42537A2985842.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}.
* New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, URL: [http://nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.asp?ID=1176 ''Podocarpus totara'' var. ''totara'']. Accessed 2010-10-03.
* New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, URL: [http://nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.asp?ID=1177 ''Podocarpus totara'' var. ''waihoensis'']. Accessed 2010-10-03.

{{Woodworking}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q164276}}

[[Category:Podocarpus|totara]]
[[Category:Trees of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Endemic flora of New Zealand]]