What does a matai tree look like?
In the forest, matai trees can be recognised most easily from their bark. Grey-brown and punctate, it flakes off in thick rounded or ovoid chunks which leave reddish blotches on the trunk. The bark is commonly described as having a ‘hammered’ appearance, as if it were beaten brass.
How long does it take a matai tree to grow?
Mataī begins life as a divaricating shrub – a tangle of interlaced branches with tiny brown leaves. Growing slowly in shaded forest, it may take 50 years to reach 2 metres, and eventually reaches 3–5 metres in height.
What is the matai tree used for?
In the Wanganui region, where totara was not common, the Maori used the wood of matai for carving. Its other uses were for canoes, canoe bailers, small agricultural implements and handles. The Maori also drank the liquid (matai beer) obtained from the cracks in heart matai to treat consumption and as an antiseptic.
Do matai trees have flowers?
A non-flowering tree (conifer) quite common throughout NZ. The young matai looks quite different to the adult tree.
What does matai mean in Samoan?
chiefs
matai is presented as the specific Samoan word which has always been used. to designate ‘chiefs’. There is even a tendency to say that this specifically. Samoan notion embodies the whole culture.
What colour is matai?
Mainly used for
Heart Matai is a straw to chestnut yellow, with an occasional reddish tinge and even colour. The narrow sapwood is white and easily distinguished.
Where do matai trees grow?
Prumnopitys taxifolia, the mataī (Māori: mataī) or black pine, is an endemic New Zealand coniferous tree that grows on the North Island and South Island. It also occurs on Stewart Island/Rakiura (47 °S) but is uncommon there.
What is the meaning of matai?
: a Samoan chief bearing a hereditary title who is head of an extended family or of a village.
How can you tell miro and Matai?
Distinguishing miro from matai
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.
What are the two types of matai?
Matai System
There are two categories of matai: The Aliʻi who are the high chiefs of the county, village, and family. The Tulafale who are talking chiefs for the county, village, and/or his family.
How do you become a matai?
How does one become a matai, or Samoan chief? The process is a fascinating mix of inheritance and election. You have to be an heir to a title – but all Samoans are heirs to at least one matai title – and then your family has to elect you to the role. That’s generally how it works, but not always.
Is Matai a hard or soft wood?
An iconic New Zealand timber, particularly hard wearing tight grained salvaged Matai makes excellent hardwood flooring.
Is Matai a soft wood?
Back in the 1920’s when our bungalow was built, native matai wood was prevalent due to its availability and hard-wearing nature. As a close grained softwood, it stands the test of time when kept dry and away from the elements. It was a great flooring option for its time.
Is Matai a hard wood?
What animal eats Tawa tree?
birds
With such large fruits the tawa is notable for the fact that it relies solely on the kererū (New Zealand woodpigeon) and, the North Island kōkako for dispersal of its seed. These are the only birds large enough to eat the fruits of this tree and pass the seeds through their guts and excrete them unharmed.
Where does the name matai come from?
Hebrew Baby Names Meaning:
In Hebrew Baby Names the meaning of the name Matai is: Gift from God.
How do you say matai?
How to Pronounce Mathai? (CORRECTLY) – YouTube
Can you eat miro berries?
Miro’s red fleshy berries are a favourite food of the kererü. The red berries which can be eaten raw, have a spicy flavour. The seeds were sometimes used for stuffing kererü (NZ pigeon) in preparation for cooking and eating. Both the gum and bark were used as medicine.
What animal eats tawa tree?
What is a matai title?
The word matai means chief, and is an honour that is bestowed upon someone. The role of the matais is very complex and interwoven deep into the fabric of Samoan culture and history. Matais have family, civic, political and prior to the arrival of the European, religious duties to perform.
How can you tell matai timber?
Appearance: The dry heartwood of Matai is straw yellow to chestnut yellow, with an occasional reddish tinge. On exposure to air it darkens to a deep red-brown. The sapwood is white. It is a straight-grained timber with a fine, even texture.
What colour is Matai?
What does the name matai mean?
gift of god
What does Matai mean? gift of god. Origin. Hebrew.
Can you eat tawa?
Tawa is in the same family as Avocado – and has a familiar large berry with green flesh and a hard kernel. The soft flesh of the berry can be eaten, but perhaps more important was the kernel which could be boiled, roasted or steamed in hangi.
Are tawa berries poisonous?
The similarity to the karaka is twofold — they are both largish fruit with edible flesh, and the kernels are edible when roasted (unlike karaka, uncooked tawa kernels are not poisonous, however).