''Prumnopitys ferruginea'', commonly called miro, is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

coniferous Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All exta ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that ar ...

which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...

. Before the genus ''

Prumnopitys ''Prumnopitys'' is a genus of conifers belonging to the family Podocarpaceae. The nine recognized species of ''Prumnopitys'' are densely branched, dioecious evergreen trees up to 40 metres in height. Etymology The name ''Prumnopitys'' comes ...

'' was distinguished, it was treated in the related genus ''

Podocarpus ''Podocarpus'' () is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. The name comes from Greek πούς (poús, “foot”) + καρπός (karpós, “fruit”). ''Podocarpus'' specie ...

'' as ''Podocarpus ferrugineus''. It grows up to 25 m high, with a trunk up to 1.3 m diameter. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ...

are linear to sickle-shaped, 15–25 mm long and 2–3 mm broad, with downcurved margins. The plants are

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

with pollen cones being solitary while those of female plants hang from a curved, scaly stalk. The seed cones are highly modified, reduced to a central stem 2–3 cm long bearing 1-3 scales, each scale maturing berry-like, oval, about 20 mm long and 10–15 mm broad, red to purple-red with a soft edible pulp covering the single

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

. The seeds are dispersed by the New Zealand pigeon, which eats the very conspicuous 'berries' and passes the seeds in its droppings. It is found growing on both lowland terrain and on hill slopes throughout the two main islands as well as on

Stewart Island/Rakiura Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...

(47° S). The Tree can live for at least 600 years. The scientific name ''ferruginea'' derives from the rusty colour of dried

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

specimens of the leaves.

Distinguishing miro from matai

Miro is distinguished from the related, and (initially) very similar looking matai (''Prumnopitys taxifolia'') in four aspects of its anatomy; its cones, bark, seeds and leaves. *Miro trees have longer, broader leaves with green undersides while those of matai leaves are white. In addition, the leaves of miro generally narrow to a point, whereas those of matai are rounded, sometimes with a small point right at the very tip. Fine, flat, feathery foliage. *Miro trees have cones of some hue of red in colour while those of matai are blue-black. *Miro also have relatively longer cones which are oval and red in colour. *Like matai, the bark of more mature miro trees flakes off to leave a distinctive "hammer mark pattern", but unlike matai, the pattern is not as pronounced nor as colourful (areas from which bark flakes have recently fallen in matai often have a striking red colour that fades over time back to brown). these leaves take up to 3 years to decompose. PrumnopitysFerruginea

References

*''Nature guide to the New Zealand forest'', John Dawson and Rob Lucas, Godwit, 2000 *''The Trees of New Zealand'', L. Cockyane, E. Phillips Turner, Government printer, 1943 *''Trees and shrubs of New Zealand'', A.L. Poole and N.M. Adams, Government printer, 1963
Gymnosperm Database: ''Prumnopitys ferruginea''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q311628 ferruginea Trees of New Zealand Trees of mild maritime climate Least concern plants