. Plants of New Zealand. Fruit oblong, 1 in. in length, extremely in both islands. Fl. Maori name, Karaka. This tree isoften called by settlers the New Zealand Laurel. The Karaka forms the?chief forest in the Chatham Islands, and was much used by the natives in themaking of canoes. This is one of the handsomest of New Zealand trees. Therounded, massive heads of laurel-like leaves are to be seenrising near most Maori clearings, as far south as Long-Look-Out Point, on Banks Peninsula. This is its southern-most habitat, though it also grows in the Chatham Islands, 234 PL
. Plants of New Zealand. Fruit oblong, 1 in. in length, extremely in both islands. Fl. Maori name, Karaka. This tree isoften called by settlers the New Zealand Laurel. The Karaka forms the?chief forest in the Chatham Islands, and was much used by the natives in themaking of canoes. This is one of the handsomest of New Zealand trees. Therounded, massive heads of laurel-like leaves are to be seenrising near most Maori clearings, as far south as Long-Look-Out Point, on Banks Peninsula. This is its southern-most habitat, though it also grows in the Chatham Islands, 234 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND where it is known to the natives as Kopi. It is common inmany places near the coast in the North Island, where it hasobviously been planted by the Maoris ; and it is alsOsometimes to be found along river-banks, being speciallyplentiful in the neighbourhood of the Wanganui River. Inthe South Island it is rarer, though Kirk (Forest Flora,p. 178) is scarcely right in calling it very rare, as it grows. Fit;. 71. Karaka Grove. in great abundance along the coast-line north of Kaikoura inthe neighbourhood of old Maori settlements. The kernel of the orange-coloured, damson-shaped fruit wasone of the staple articles of diet of the Maori. Consequently,the tree was much cultivated, and, as the young plants growreadily from self-sown seeds in the shade of the old, thekaraka is very often to be found in groves. These groves,according to Colenso, were strictly tapii. His account of the *Trans. IV., p. 317. THE BUCKTHORN FAMILY 235 manner of preparation of the food, and the action of the poisonis extremely interesting. Mr. Skey investigated the nature of the poison, and cameto the conchision that it was probably a glucoside (v., underCoriaria ruscifoUa.) He isolated the bitter principle inbeautifully radiating acicular crystals, and considered thatit was similar to digitaline {, the drug obtained from theroot of the fox-glove), {v., also under Pomaderris.) The Home of
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectplants, bookyear1906
