MATAI - Black pine

Podocarpus spicatus

A fine forest tree from forty to a hundred and thirty feet high. In its juvenile form the matai has quite a different appearance, so that at one time it was considered to be a different species. The leaves were few and copper in colour, growing only at the ends of the drooping branches. When adult, the trunk is almost black, straight and strong, and four to five feet in diameter. The bark is shed in large, round flakes, showing the inner bark in vivid red patches. At the top of the trunk the tree divides into short, strong branches carrying the leaves on flat branchlets. These grow upright and are bluntedged, a quarter to half an inch in length. They are bluish—green on top and pale green on the underside. The fruit is carried at the end of the leaf stems, two to four on each spike. Black and rather like a small plum, it is a favourite fruit of the bush birds in March and April. It is edible but has the smell and taste of turpentine.

The trunk was tapped, and the juice obtained from it drunk by consumptives (Adams).

Cracks in the trunks of old trees contain a considerable amount of this juice, which was known as matai beer by bushmen in early days. It was also used as an antiseptic and proved to be effective.

Matai is found throughout the country and is sought after for the timber, which has a fine, wavy grain and is a beautiful, brownish yellow. The texture is very fine, as the tree is of slow growth. Because of this and the high polish it takes, it is very good for floor boards.