{"slug":"podocarpus-totara","scientific_name":"Podocarpus totara","common_names":["Tōtara","Totara"],"family":"Podocarpaceae","type":"conifer","mature_height_m":25,"mature_spread_m":10,"growth_rate":"slow","lifespan_years":500,"hardiness_zones":[9,9],"sun":"full_partial","water":"low","soil":"Fertile, well-drained alluvial or hill soils; intolerant of prolonged wet ground","native_range":"Endemic to New Zealand, throughout the North and South Islands and rarely on Stewart Island/Rakiura, in lowland to lower subalpine forest.","description":"A long-lived native conifer growing to about 30 m with thick, stringy reddish bark, stiff brownish-green needle-like leaves and red fleshy fruit that kererū and other birds eat. Māori prized its durable red timber for waka and carving, and the Pouakani tōtara is over 42 m tall and 3.9 m across. It is the most commonly planted podocarp in New Zealand restoration and farm forestry, and is very drought tolerant for a native.","care":"Plant in sun or light shade on drained soil; it tolerates dry, lower-rainfall sites but not waterlogging. Interplanting among nurse shrubs improves stem form. Water the first summer; protect from stock and hares. Grows slowly for decades then steadily; prune side branches in winter if a clean trunk is wanted. A fungal leaf spot (Corynelia) is cosmetic.","benefits":["long_lived","birds","wildlife","drought_tolerant","carbon","windbreak"],"uses":["reforestation","timber","parks","yard_shade","screening"],"cautions":["none"],"image_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Pouakani%2C_the_famous_giant_t%C5%8Dtara.jpg","image_credit":"Wikimedia Commons, file Pouakani,_the_famous_giant_tōtara.jpg (see file page for author and licence)","sources":["https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/podocarpus-totara-var-totara/","https://www.conifers.org/po/Podocarpus_totara.php","https://toolkit.tanestrees.org.nz/growth-yield-calculator/species-information/","https://www.gbif.org/species/5286079"],"data_note":null,"updated_at":"2026-11-08T01:00:46.205Z","page_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/podocarpus-totara","markdown_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/podocarpus-totara.md","regions":[{"country":"NZ","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":"Endemic; Not Threatened","source_url":"https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/podocarpus-totara-var-totara/"}],"license":"CC-BY-4.0"}