Dacrydium cupressinum
From Freepedia
| Dacrydium cupressinum | ||||||||||||||
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| Dacrydium cupressinum Sol. ex Lamb. |
Dacrydium cupressinum (Rimu) is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It was named as "red pine" by the European colonists, although this name is misleading since it is not a pine. Red pine is falling out of common use and the Maori name Rimu is now used.
Rimu grows throughout New Zealand, on the North Island, South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura, although most trees are now found on the West Coast of the South Island.
It can be a large but slow-growing tree, growing as high as 50 m tall, though most surviving large trees are 20-35 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, awl-shaped, 3-6 mm long on juvenile plants, and 2-3 mm long on mature trees. It is dioecious, with male and female cones on separate trees; the seeds take 15 months to mature after pollination. The mature cones comprise a swollen red fleshy scale 6-10 mm long bearing one (rarely two) apical seeds 4 mm long. Its lifespan is approximately 800-900 years.
The seeds are dispersed by birds which eat the fleshy scale and pass the seed on in their droppings; they are an important food resource for some species, particularly the Kakapo, whose breeding cycle has been linked to rimu's cone production cycle.
Uses
Historically, Rimu and other native trees such as Kauri and Totara were the main sources of wood for New Zealand, including furniture and house construction. However, many of New Zealand's original stands of Rimu have been destroyed, and recent government policies forbid the felling of Rimu in public forests, though allowing limited logging on private land. Pinus radiata has now replaced Rimu in most industries, although Rimu remains popular for the production of high quality wooden furniture.
