NIKAU - A palm tree

Rlzopalostylis sapida

The Maori name nikau means “numerous leaves coming from the same stalk” (Johannes Anderson). This is a lovely indigenous palm, one of the most distinctive found anywhere in the world, and is a unique feature of the New Zealand landscape.

It may be seen in groups on the open plains or on the borders of lowland forests, and is found all over the North and South Islands, especially on the west coast, around Westport and further north.

Nikau grows from ten to twenty—five feet in height, and has a smooth, straight trunk, ringed at intervals from the shedding of the leaf bases.

Flowering branches come from the base of the lower leaves

and later form bunches of bright red berries. The young shoots and buds are edible and were eaten raw by the Maoris. The pith from the head of the palm when the young leaves appear is very nutritious. This was called “millionaire’s salad” by early settlers, because when taken the palm died. Captain Cook used the central shoots, cooked as a green vegetable, on his first voyage (Hooker).

The pith was slightly laxative and was eaten by pregnant women to relax the pelvic muscles, and the sap was drunk as a further aid to ease labour in childbirth (Goldie).

The Maori people preferred nikau leaves to any other for thatching purposes. Today they make splendid material for the roof and sides of a bush shelter, and also for a camp mattress.