Карака: новозеландское лавровое дерево (Corynocarpus laevigatus)

Species of plant

Karaka or New Zealand laurel (Corynocarpus laevigatus) is an evergreen tree of the family Corynocarpaceae endemic to New Zealand. It is common throughout the North and South Islands to Banks Peninsula (43°45′S) and Ōkārito (43°20′S), on the Three Kings Islands, on Raoul Island in the Kermadecs, and on the Chatham Islands. It is widespread in coastal habitats, often forming a major component of coastal forest, though it rarely dominates. Most botanists consider it to be native only to the northern half of the North Island, having been planted elsewhere by Māori near former village sites, and subsequently spread by birds. The common name karaka comes from the Māori language, and is also the Māori term for the colour orange, from the colour of the fruit. In the Chatham Islands, it is called kōpī, its name in the Moriori language. It is naturalised and considered invasive in Hawaii.

Karaka is a leafy canopy tree with erect or spreading branches. It grows to heights up to 15 m and has a stout trunk up to 1 m in diameter. The thick, leathery leaves are glossy, dark green above and paler beneath, 50–200 mm long, and 30–70 mm wide with petioles 10–15 mm long. In winter and spring (August to November), karaka produces stout, erect panicles of tiny flowers. Individual flowers are 4–5 mm in diameter and greenish cream to off white or pale yellow. The fruit is an ellipsoid to ovoid drupe 25–46 mm long, with pale yellow to orange flesh, containing a single seed. The flowers are also a way of distinguishing between male and female plants.

Karaka may be easily grown from fresh seed, but cuttings are very difficult to strike. Young plants are frost tender and sensitive to cold. The tree often naturalises in suitable habitats. It is common in cultivation and widely available for sale both in New Zealand and in suitable climates elsewhere. Every autumn (March to May), pre European Māori would collect the seeds dropped from the coastal karaka trees. The seeds would be placed in open weave kete, washed in rivers to remove the outer pulp, afterwards baked and sun dried, a process that would remove toxicity from the seeds. The berries are toxic if ingested by dogs and may result in death. There is also evidence from beekeepers that the flowers may be narcotic or toxic to bees, causing bee loss and resulting in lower honey production.

On the Chatham Islands this tree (locally known as kopi) has played a distinguished role in the history of Moriori people: the soft bark of these trees has been used for making dendroglyphs. A report in 2000 noted the existence of 147 kopi trees with dendroglyphs, though some may not have been authentically Moriori.