Mature tree (2).
Common Names
Kahikatea (Maori) (1), white pine (3).Taxonomic notes
Syn: Podocarpus dacrydioides A. Rich. 1832 (3).Description
Tree to 40 m tall (4).Range
New Zealand (1). See (4) for information on habitat.Big Tree
A tree 184 cm dbh and 50 m tall is recorded from Kaharoa, Rotorua district, New Zealand (7).Oldest
Dendrochronology
Ethnobotany
Observations
Remarks
"The successional ecology of kahikatea forests is dependent on frugivorous birds dispersing seed of both pioneer shrub species and kahikatea itself. ... Different bird species [prefer] different-aged stands ... The diversity of [native] birds ... was positively correlated with increasing structural complexity of the vegetation. Bird abundance changed markedly with season. Frugivorous birds were extremely common in the fruiting season of kahikatea" (5).Native old growth forests also support an extraordinarily complex and diverse epiphytic flora (6).
See also Paleobotany of Australia and New Zealand conifers.
Citations
(1) Silba 1986.(2) NZ School of Forestry website.
(3) Allan 1961.
(4) South West New Zealand website.
(5) Robertson, H.A. and K.R. Hackwell. 1995. Habitat preferences of birds in seral kahikatea Dacrycarpus dacrydioides (Podocarpaceae) forest of South Westland, New Zealand. Biological Conservation 71(3):275-280.
(6) Dickinson, K.J.M., A.F. Mark and B. Dawkins. 1993. Ecology of lianoid/epiphytic communities in coastal podocarp rain forest, Haast Ecological District, New Zealand. Journal of Biogeography 20(6):687-705.
(7) Burstall & Sale 1984.
[Dacrycarpus] [Podocarpaceae] [home]
This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
URL: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/2285/po/da_s/dacrydioides.htm
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
E-mail:earlecj@earthlink.net
Last modified on 21-Dec-98