''Litsea calicaris'', the mangeao, is an evergreen tree endemic to the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, occurring in lowland forest from near North Cape south to about 38°S. It belongs to the Laurel family,

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant Family (biology), family that includes the bay laurel, true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genus (biology), genera worldwide. They are dicotyled ...

Description

Mangeao is the only

representative of the genus ''

Litsea ''Litsea'' is a genus of evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes a large number of accepted species in tropical and subtropical areas of North America and Asia. Characteristics They a ...

'' which consists of 200–400 species of

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

trees or shrubs in tropical and subtropical

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. There are more than 70 species in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, mostly in warm regions in the south and southwest. Mangeao grows up to in height, and has smooth dark greyish brown bark. The leaves are opposite, long, ovate or ovate-oblong, and bluish-green below. The flowers are small, in umbels of 4 to 5, the fruit is an oblong-ovoid drupe, long, reddish and seated on a disc. A tree planted by the Reverend Richard Taylor in 1860 was measured about 120 years later as tall with a trunk diameter of . Mangeao is commonest in the southern part of its range, especially in the hill country between

Te Kūiti Te Kūiti is a town in the north of the King Country region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of New Zealand State Highway 3, State Highways 3 and New Zealand State Highway 30, 30 and on the North Island Main Trunk rail ...

and the west coast, and in the

Kaimai Ranges The Kaimai Range (sometimes referred to as the ''Kaimai Ranges'') is a mountain range in the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of a series of ranges, with the Coromandel Range to the north and the Mamaku Ranges to the south. The Kaimai ...

between

Katikati Katikati is a town in New Zealand's North Island, located on the Uretara Stream near a tidal inlet towards the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, 28 kilometres south of Waihi and 40 kilometres northwest of Tauranga. State Highway 2 passes throug ...

and

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

. Thriving best on limestone-derived soils or heavy clays, mangeao requires good drainage and has low tolerance of drought conditions. Young trees are very frost tender.

Uses

Mangeao produces high-quality timber with excellent strength and flexibility. The wood is white, firm, and strong, combining toughness with elasticity and light weight. In the 19th century it was used for many purposes including the making of barrels and wheels, and for boat frames, railway carriages and sporting goods. It also produces a high quality sliced veneer. Current uses are in the making of violins and for the ribs of kayaks. It was also used for the 9th floor of the Beehive building (the executive wing of the

Parliament of New Zealand The New Zealand Parliament () is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Sovereign and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his governor-general. Before 1951, there was an upper ch ...

). The

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

are said to have used it for its medicinal properties.

Threats

Apart from the threat posed by forest clearance, mangeao suffers badly from browsing by

possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Didelphimorphia, or (o)possums, an order of marsupials native to the Americas ** Didelphis, a genus of marsupials within Didelphimorphia *** Common opossum, native to Central and South America *** Virginia opossum, ...

References

* * * *Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand, Volume I, Government Printer, Wellington. *Poole, A. L. & N. M. Adams 1994: Trees and shrubs of New Zealand. Government Printer, Wellington. {{Taxonbar, from=Q5242707 Trees of New Zealand calicaris