PUKATEA

Laurelia noeae—zelandiae

This is one of the tallest trees in New Zealand. It grows to a height of a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet and is distinguished by the wide, fiat buttresses which rise four to five feet above the ground before they merge completely with the trunk. This is between four and five feet in diameter.

The pukatea is found in wet gullies and swampy areas in forests, as it has a preference for shady conditions with plenty of moisture.

It is found throughout the North Island and in the north of the South Island.

The bark is pale and the wood, which has a very attractive grain, is water resistant, though not long lasting in the ground. Nails can be driven in at any angle, as it is hard to split. The branches, which do not develop until nearly at the top of the tree, have four—sided leaf stems, from which the oblong leaves grow in opposite pairs.

They are a glossy dark green with a pale underside, and are one to three inches long, with serrated leaves. When crushed they give off an aromatic scent. The small, greenish—yellow flowers are borne in clusters beneath on the leaf stems.

The Maori people used only the bark of pukatea for medicine. The outer bark was removed and the inner bark steeped in hot water. This liquid healed running sores of long standing; also chronic ulcers. For toothache a strong decoction of the pulped inner bark was held in the mouth, and found to relieve the pain. For neuralgia they steeped the pulp of fresh bark in hot water and made it into a pack.

A chemical analysis of the bark of pukatea shows it contains the alkaloid pukateine, which has strong analgesic properties similar to those of morphine, but has no after effects (Fogg 1935).