Tree Weta
The most common weta are the seven species of the tree weta found in gardens and bush. There are probably in total about 100 species split into 5 main groups. Tree weta are predominantly herbivorous feeding on leaves and fruit. They are seldom found alone, preferring instead to associate in groups which often share space in tree tunnels. Males have large heads up to twice the length of the female.. Females at the rear end have a spike known as the ovipositor, used to lay eggs in the ground.. Males can be heard calling at night (sounds like someone running their fingernail over the tooth of a comb) They play an important part in the regeneration of our native bush for when they eat fruits the seed is ejected from the rear and it grows more quickly than by directly planting the seed.

Tauhinu – cottonwood
This is the grey leafed plant you will see plenty of up the track especially near the top. It has tiny daisy like flowers and tiny wind blown seeds. A common NZ native shrub, silver grey appearance with flowers in profusion. It is fast growing reaching a maximum height of 2 metres. It will protect our trees until they overtop it when it will die out.

Toetoe
Distribution throughout North Island but generally scarce north of Auckland. Found from the coast to subalpine areas, common alongside streams, lake margins, in damp spots within forest clearings, seepages and on hillsides. A giant tussock grass grows over 3 metres tall when in flower during spring. The usually one-sided flower/seed head is often drooping, at least at the tip. It has many fine hanging branches containing numerous flower clusters encased in soft hairy scales. Pampas grasses, two of which were introduced from South America, are similar in appearance to toetoe but are serious weeds in parts of the country. Toetoe can be distinguished from pampas grass by NOT having tightly curled leaf debris at the base of the plant. Also the tip of the toetoe flower head is drooping as opposed to erect on pampas grass. Furthermore leaves of toetoe do not easily break when tugged. The ‘cutty’ part of the plant comprises silica (glass) which is thought to provide resistance to predation and fungal attack, and mechanical support ( has been used by trampers to cut tomatoes) The major traditional use for toetoe was to line the inner walls, roofs and partitions of houses and other buildings with the stems ( culms) called kaakaho, producing a neat finish. Used as a medicinal plant by the Maori and the Moriori of the Chatham Islands. The feathery part is used to dress wounds and prevent loss of blood and the lower part of the leaves can be eaten for diarrhoea. The juice from the stems is used to clean infants tongues ( possibly as a treatment for thrush) and the stem pith is taken for kidney and bladder problems.

Kawakawa
This species is endemic to NZ (ie belonging only to NZ ). At the family level it is related to the pepper we use as a condiment. Easy to recognise with heart shaped opposite leaves which have a spicy smell when crushed. The leaves are full of holes caused by the looper caterpillar. Inconspicuous flowers but yellow-orange fruit usually 2.5cms long in summer on female plants. There are plenty to see up the track and possibly in the home garden.
The fruit, bark and leaves all have medicinal properties. In fact kawakawa is one of the only plants still used by Maori. Leaves were used to alleviate toothache; bruised leaves drew pus from boils and skin infections. A drink made from the leaves helped stomach pains and rheumatics when rubbed on joints. Try a few leaves on the BBQ as an insect repellent or bite on a leaf as a breath freshener.

Kawakawa Looper Caterpillar
This is the caterpillar that makes the holes in the leaves and is of a native moth whose main diet is kawakawa leaves. It is not however a threat to the species. It also feeds on native akeake, horopito, makomako, ramarama and the introduced feijoa. Feeding mostly at night it is difficult to see.

Divaricating shrubs
An unusual type of shrub with very small leaves and densely interlacing twigs. They are often profusely branched and spread apart at wide angles. They also include the juvenile stage of several small trees. There are more than 60 species which have this form. With many of these shrubs it is difficult for birds to access the berries so it is lizards which eat and spread the seeds. Their tangled foliage makes streaky shadows offering protection from predators and creating hiding holes that can provide warmth when it is cold and relief when it is hot. Up the track we have many of these shrubs most notably the coprosmas. Identifying them is not too difficult, the leaves are opposite, smooth margined and have domatia and pointed stipules. Flowering is generally through spring to summer with berries following through autumn into winter. Many can be seen on the track but identifying the species can be difficult Coprosma Rahmnoides

The Wellington Green Gecko
Of the 85 lizard species in NZ only 9 are found in the urban parts of the Lower North Island…and if you are lucky some of those nine may be sheltering under bushes in your backyard. There are only two types of lizard in NZ – geckos and skinks. Skinks are more slender with narrow heads and tight shiny skin. Geckos have broad heads clearly defined necks and baggy skin that looks soft and velvety. Geckos also lack the ability to blink and use their tongue to clean their eyes. Classified as being in gradual decline. Easily identified , it is green with pale green or yellow spots along its back. The inside of its mouth is blue rather than the usual orange or pink. To see these on the track or in the home garden would be rare as their main predators are cats, rats and stoats. You can see them in an enclosure at Zealandia not far from the entrance gate. They are kept there until they reach two years of age when they are released on Matiu-Somes island. They are beautiful creatures and as each one is individually marked they have been know as ‘living art’ It is illegal to actually keep them as a pet but they can be enticed into scrubby forested environments – hence the fauna reference in this update. Leaf litter, coprosmas, manuka and kanuka are enjoyed by the geckos.

Phormium tenax
Although it is called a flax it is really a lily from the Agavacae family. It grows up to 2.3ms high in both dry and wet conditions. It withstands strong and coastal winds. Is used for hedging or shelter in mixed planting.. It is also a pioneer plant and thus ideal on the track for the restoration of our native bush. The flowers are rich in nectar like phormium cookianum Phormium tenax was one of the fibre and medicinal plants used by Maori It had an important traditional role with each marae having its own plantation

Phormium cookianum
Although called mountain flax it is found throughout NZ from coastal slopes to above the treeline. It is smaller the Harakeke and had more drooping leaves. The seed capsules are a source of nectar for native birds especially the tui and bellbird. Most flax cultivars are derived from phormium cookianum.

Tauhou
These birds arrived in NZ in umbers mid 19th century from eastern Australia. Hence the Maori name tauhou meaning stranger. So it is considered native but not endemic. Food consists mainly of fruit and insects but eagerly takes nectar. Very handy in the home garden to clean fruit trees of bugs. Photo shows colours of greys, white, yellowish green but the most distinguishing feature is the white eye ring. The song varies between warbles and trills.

Hange Hange
An undershrub in many coastal and lowland forests throughout the north island and the north of the south island. Up to 3m tall its opposite leaves are membranous, pale green below sometimes whitish 5-7cm long and 2-3cm wide greenish white flowers small and inconspicuous but strong smelling in spring. Small green seed capsules turning black (summer) There are quite a number up the track. Their soft greeny/yellow leaves and their compact nature make them stand out. around our house on a still evening the perfume from the hange hange is magic.

Clematis paniculata
The masses of pure white flowers light up the forest roof at this time of the year. It is found throughout the country in lowland and mountain forests. The flowers,5-10cm, of the male plant are larger than those of the female. The leaves of young plants are unlike those of the adults. The first leaves are thin long and narrow. then come leaves with 3 long and narrow leaflets followed by leaves with deeply lobed leaflets. there is a gradual transition then to adult stage. Some can be seen from the track in surrounding regenerating bush but the best view is of those planted on the verandah columns at the Ngaio shops

KAKA
When Europeans arrived in NZ they remarked on the abundance of kaka despite the thousands that were hunted every year by Maori for food and the red feathers under their wings. with the introduction of stoats and the destruction of their habitat they were on their way to extinction. The stoats would climb trees and eat eggs chicks and nesting females so there were areas with only male birds. Thanks again to the use of offshore islands and places like Zealandia we now can have the chance of seeing these beautiful birds. Zealandia ( Te Mara a Tane) .introduced 14 and now there are 300. These are highly intelligent birds. A worker at Zealandia has said that when he bands the kaka fledglings the mother will sit on his shoulder and make noises as if to say ‘its ok’ Korimako(bellbird) parents however go into a panic.
They are easy to identify. 45cms long and averaging 500gms in weight. Upper parts mainly olive brown and the under parts dark crimson. Wide ranging in diet it eats fruit, takes nectar with its brush like tongue eats insects, takes sap from a number of trees and breaks up bark and decaying wood to extract grubs.

Korimako
We hope that one day we will hear the beautiful song of the korimako on the Bells’ track (it would them be a very fitting name )
They have been spotted in Ngaio but none on the track. They were absent from the Wellington peninsular for some 150 years until introduced into Zealandia ( Te Mara a Tane) a few years back . They have been slow to breed and often do not return to their place of birth. However by keeping females in cages for a while the males hung around. When the females were released the birds established breeding and feeding territories
About 20cm long the male is olive green with bluish black wings and tail. The female is browner in tone and has a narrow white stripe extending from the bill on each side. Both sexes have a short slightly curved bill, a tail forked at the tip and red eyes With a similar diet to the tui they will establish where tui are found. Although a honeyeater the korimako has a varied diet, eating berries when there are no insects or nectar. As a nectar eater it has an important role in the forest pollinating many plants and spreading seeds.

Miro
This is one of the five podocarps indigenous to this area. Their planting will mean that we will have all five up the track. Others have been totara, rimu, matai and kahikatea. (At a later date I will write about the type of forest we are planting and describe a podocarp)
Miro grows up to 25m tall with a trunk up to 1m in diameter. The juvenile plants are very attractive with an almost fern like appearance, dark green, tidily branched and densely leafy with the leaves flattened into 2 rows. Juvenile leaves are up to 3 cm long and pointed at the tip. The adult leaves are also flattened into 2 rows, 1.5 – 2.5 cm long and 2-3mm wide, blunt to pointed at the tip and pale green below. The seeds appear singly or in pairs. Oblong at maturity 1.5 -2 cm long 1cm wide and bright red these large fleshy seeds are a favourite food of the kereru.

Hebe
The flora this month is the Hebe. We have over 100 species and only about three are found outside NZ. Two in South America and one on Rapa Island. The French have really taken to them and they abound in their garden shops. Many have been hybridised by the French and the colours range from white to magenta. They call them Veronique. Some of you may recall they were once called veronica here. Apparently there is a move to call them again by that name. The most common one up the track is Hebe stricta,(called koromiko by the Maori ) They have been proven to be an effective remedy for dysentery. During World War 2 medicinal hebe leaves were sent to NZ troops at the North African front.

Kakapo
The fauna is the Kakapo. Many of you may know that the most famous kakapo Sirocco will be at Zealandia from Sept 29th –October 31st. He is one of only 131 such birds left on the planet and has been assigned the role of conservation spokesbird!
Unfortunately we will not be seeing kakapo on the Bells’ track any time in the near future.
Kakapo in Maori means night parrot. They were once widely distributed throughout NZ. Settlers often kept them as pets, finding them more intelligent than cats or dogs and often very funny. Because of the food they eat- berries,leaves,roots, they smell very nice. During the day they would roost in trees and if the tree were shaken they would fall out like apples to be gathered up, cooked and eaten rats, stoats and dogs killed them and deer and possum ate their food. It is no wonder they became almost extinct and are now one of the rarest birds in the world.

Poroporo
The same family as tomato/potato. These are fast growing shrubs reaching 4ms. The leaves are linear, entire or lobed. Plants of s.laciniatum have purplish stems and produce violet-blue flowers in contrast to the white-mauve flowers of s.aviculare. The latter is found throughout the North Island, south to Banks Peninsula in the east and Karamea in the west. S.laciniatum is found from Auckland south to Otago. The leaves and unripe fruit contain the toxic alkaloid solasodine. It was cultivated in Russia and Hungary where the extracted solasidine was used as a base material for the production of steroid contraceptives. This plant is also used as a rootstock for grafting eggplant.

Piwakawaka – the fantail
There are many other names in Maori. Known for its friendly cheet cheet call and energetic flying antics the aptly named fantail is one of the most common and widely distributed native birds on the NZ mainland. It is easily recognised by its long tail which opens into a fan. It has a small head and bill and has two colour forms, pied and melanistic or black. The pied birds are grey-brown with white and black bands.
Threats are cats, rats, stoats and mynahs. Of all the eggs and chicks fantails produce only a few grow up. They are not endemic. We share them with Eastern Australia, Tasmania, the Solomons, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands.
Mostly capture insects and other invertebrates on the wing and uses its fanned tail to stop in mid-air before darting in another direction. Very handy to have around the garden.

The Red Admiral
A large and colourful butterfly found throughout the country. The adults appear from January to April. The wing span is up to 6.5cms and they are black with bars of red. The bars of the hind wings have four black rings with blue centres. The caterpillars feed only on tree nettles and smaller nettles at forest margins. They fold leaves over themselves to stay out of sight of predators. The caterpillars are unaffected by the poison in the plants.

Onga Onga
Sometimes up to 2m tall the most notable feature is the unpleasant sting they can inflict with specialised hairs on leaves and stems. The hairs are pale, stiff and stand at right angles to the plant surfaces. When touched the tips break off leaving sharp points which easily pierce the skin and inject the fluid similar to a hypodermic needle.
Urtica ferox is found at low altitudes throughout the North Island and in the east of the South Island.
There are two clumps up the track – one on the left side just before the last flight of steps and another, again on the left, after the ANZ seat.
Urtica incisa ( I could not find the Maori name)
Is a forest dweller 60 cms tall with coarsely prominent toothed leaf blade. The hairs are as above for Onga Onga. I have not seen any up the track but it is likely to be there somewhere.
Onga onga is the chief host plant for the red admiral butterfly and the nettle moth. The red admiral pupa may often be attacked by the ichneumon wasp which was introduced to control white butterfly.

Northern Rata (Metrosideros robusta) Northern rata can grow up to 30 metres tall with a massive trunk 2 or more metres in diameter. The leaves are small and leathery in texture with indented tips unlike the southern rata. The wood is reddish brown with a twisted grain The flowers are a mass of dark scarlet stamens borne in sprays on the tips of branches. Flowers November-January: fruit December-January.
The Southern rata (metrosideros umbelata) grows not only in the South Island but also the lower part of the North Island. It tolerates cooler temperatures than the Northern rata. It is rare but widely scattered in the North Island and abundant in the west and south of the South Island. Grows to 15m tall with a 1m diameter trunk None planted on track.

Climbing rata (Metrosideros fulgens being the most vigorous) Common Maori names are aka and puatawhiwhi Not a robust tree but a scrambling vine creeping along the forest floor until a suitable tree trunk or rock is found to climb up. Flowers can be white or carmine and appear in spring autumn or winter Fulgens has a long flowering period from autumn to early spring. ‘Fulgens” means shiny, radiant or glowing. None on the Bells’ track so far but they can be seen at Zealandia, Otari and Khandallah Reserve.Longer flowering than pohutukawa it is more appropriate to the track Pohutukawa does not belong to this region and thus inappropriate.

The Tui
I remember 20 years ago that to see a tui in the garden was a rare sight.maybe once every couple of years. Now everyday we have the delight of these beautiful birds. A combination of factors contribute to this. Predator free breeding at Zealandia, DOC’s pest control programmes and more people planting native trees.
Tui have irridescent feathers, metallic green with bluish-purple reflections according to the light. At a distance they appear black. The most conspicuous feature is a tuft of white feathers on the neck. In the juveniles these feathers are lacking. Tui enjoy nectar from native and introduced plans and also eat medium sized berries and insects. The song varies from district to district and the season. Sounds are melodious interspersed with coughs, grunts, rattles wheezes and chuckles. Many notes are of a high frequency beyond the range of human ears. With two voice boxes it is capable of singing two songs at once.

Kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) Together with manuka kanuka is one of the regenerating forest trees. To tell the two species apart it is manuka if it feels prickly to the touch and kanuka if it feels soft.
It forms a shrub or small tree up to 15m tall or more with pale bark peeling off in long strips. The white flowers are about 5mm in diameter and generally in clusters. The stamens are longer than the petals. The capsules are soft and 2-4mm in diameter.

Wellington green gecko (Naultinus elegans punctatus) NZ lizards are divided into two main groups – geckos and skinks. With 50 – 80 species there are more species than our birds. Geckos have a soft loose skin covered with granular scales while the skin of skinks is shiny and smooth. Except for one skink NZ lizards give birth to live young rather than laying eggs a tropical species do. Geckos eyes are permanently open but skinks have small blinkable eyes. The Wellington green gecko is a subspecies found only in the southern half of the North Island. Easily distinguished by its green colour and yellow markings the Wellington gecko has yellow soles on its feet instead of the grey/green colour of others. They live in scrub and forest areas especially where there is kanuka and manuka. Inside of the mouth is a reddish blue colour. Hard to spot in the wild as cats and rats are their predators. Zealandia ( Te Mara a Tane) is the best place to see them where they are kept in cages until 2 years old and then transferred to Matiu/Somes Island in the harbour. Lizards help with pollination of many plants especially flax. Also they distribute the seeds of divaricated shrubs (those with interlacing branches that birds find hard to reach inside-we have the largest selection of such plants in the world). With the decline of the lizard population there is a decline in our divaricated shrubs.

Hoheria Populnea ( lacebark) A fast growing tree attractive in form and beautiful in flower. They do well in good soil and do not tolerate persistent strong winds or long dry periods. The bark can be stripped off in fine lacy layers – hence its common name. The leaves are 1-7.5cms long x 5-50mm wide and coarsely toothed.
The flowers are pure white with many stamens. The yellowish fruits are dry, strongly winged with each containing a single seed. They are autumn flowering and they fruit from mid autumn to mid winter.

Porokaiwhiri – Pigeonwood (Hedycarya arborea)
Pigeonwood is common in lowlands and lower mountain forests throughout the country.
Up to 12m tall with a trunk up to 50cm in diameter its bark is smooth. Leaves are 5-12.5cms long,2-3cms wide with small pointed teeth. The flowers are greenish and very fragrant followed by orange berries. Flowering from spring to early summer berries appear in spring and throughout summer. There are some adjacent to the lower lawn amongst the totara.

Kikihia (The Cicada) At this time of the year we are familiar with the sound of these insects.
It is the male that makes the loudest noise. This is made by the rapid movement of a timbale which oscillates up to 600 times a second. Behind the timbale most of the abdomen is hollow creating a resonating chamber which amplifies the sound.

The cicada spends most of its life underground before emerging briefly during summer as an adult to face the hazards of mating and laying eggs.

Some of New Zealand’s 40 species are know to stay at least 5 years as a larvae buried in the soil where there is plenty of food. They feed on plant roots, digging deep into the soil and using larger roots. This (the Xylem) gives them a watery low sugar and high amino–acid diet

Cicadas are wide spread in warmer parts of the world

When English settlers first arrived in NZ Maori described their speech as te reo kikihia (cicada language) because of its harshness compared to the more melodious Maori.

Mahoe (Whiteywood) Melicytus ramiflorus This is found throughout the country from lowland to lower mountain forest. It is a small tree and member of the violet family. Growing up to 10 metres high, with a trunk 60cm in diameter, it has a smooth whitish bark and brittle twigs. The leaf edges are finely serrated although this feature is less pronounced in the younger plants. They are dioecious ie thee are male and female plants. The flowers are yellow with a pleasant fragrance and followed by violet coloured berries. The berries are eaten by a variety of birds. Geckos of the genus naultinus have been seen to eat them thus supplementing their normally insectivorous diet.

These trees are prevalent up the track and easily recognised. They play an important part in the regeneration of our forest. Their roots go deep down and get a lot of goodies into their leaves. They then have a good leaf drop and hence build up the soil.

Blechnum Novae Zelandiae (kio kio) This fern is regarded as one of our hard ferns and one of our most widely distributed.. A common fern found in banks and gullies. It has a cascade of fronds ranging from bright green to blood red.

In a dry situation the fronds are smaller. The erect fertile fronds are quite different from the frilled edged sterile fronds developing with narrow green pinnae which curl and turn black as the spores ripen. Fronds 30 cms to 2ms long. There is a good clump by the stream just below the waterfall.

There are five species of muehlenbeckia. Two of particular interest are M. australis and M.complexa. Both are called Pohuehue by Maori. M.astonii is worth noting for it is a great garden shrub easy to clip and it is a threatened Wellington region plant. The council has done some wonderful planting of it in the traffic islands along Jervois Quay. M.australis is a great suppressor of blackberry. It has a much branched interlacing habit with leaves up to 80mm long. The creamy panicles occur mainly in spring and summer.. They belong to the dock family (Polygonaceae) which the settlers called wire vine. You can see why if you notice it scrambling amongst the trees at the bottom of the track.
It may need some control if competing with rare and endangered plants. Just cutting it at ground level is enough to suppress it. It is a wonderful benefit to our bush and the most important in NZ flora in terms of species richness in insects... M. complexa has all the same attributes but has smaller leaves and usually found on the coast. However it can be seen higher up the track on the ridge where it forms dense springy mounds. The juicy swollen flower which holds the black seed can be eaten in summer and autumn.

That brings us to the fauna of the month – the copper butterflies which are thought to number at least 50 species in four well defined groups. The coppers almost totally rely on muehlenbeckias for survival. The larvae eat all parts of the plant: Some feed on the flowers, others on the foliage while others feed on leaf litter. A few tiny species mine the leaves while an elegant species lives within a swelling it initiates in the stems. Still others re-use this swelling, eat the seeds or browse lichen growing on the stems.
They produce broods made up of normally developing and dispausing larvae ( which stop growing for many months) If the normal larvae die off in bad weather the dispauaing larvae replace them.

The next time on a sunny day you see a copper butterfly look for the muehlenbeckia and be glad we have helped ensure our flora and fauna are till around for another generation.

A handsome tree with shiny pinnate leaves rounded form and dark trunk. It grows about 5 – 6 metres. The tiny flowers are borne on the ends of the branches in panicles up to 30cms long. The small fruits that follow are most ornamental when they ripen. The hard brown capsule splits open to reveal a shiny black seed embedded in a brilliant scarlet fleshy coating ( The two we have planted are on the left hand side after the bridge ) Pre-European Maori found many uses for an oil extracted from the seeds by pounding. Crushed aromatic leaves (often Tarata) were added to the oil to anoint the bodies of chiefs. The oil was also applied to bruises and sore ears as well as being used to relieve arthritis.

Well shaped and rounded tawa is a lower canopy tree which grows beneath taller podocarps. A shade lover.. Trees deep in the forest have slender trunks compared with those growing in the open. At its highest it reaches 30 metres. It is one of the laurel family – tropical examples being the bay tree, avocado, cinnamon and camphor.

At the end of its willow like green to honey-gold leaves small flowers bear large oval drupes. These turpentine flavoured berries are relished by the kereru. Maori also ate them once they had been soaked, dried and pulped. Cooked in a hangi they taste like potato. Tawa trunks and boughs have smooth dark coloured bark. The straight grained and light timber was used to make bird spears up to 9ms long and only 30mms in diameter.

A perennial with large strapped-shaped light green leaves and showy white flowers. Tolerates coastal damp, dry shade or drought but dislikes too much sun. Grows to a height 0.4 m to 1.00m. frost tender but will come away in spring.

Propagation. Will seed but I prefer division. Just dig a clump out tease the roots at the base and it will separate forming small plants. Then cut off top 2 thirds of the leaves to reduce transpiration. Then plant these in gaps to save weeding or 300 to 500 mm apart.
These would be good all the way up the track but as the bush gets established they will die out.
I would like to see more planted on council land for when they flower they herald summer.
Downside could be the attack by snails and slug sand are not self grooming so some tatty leaves may be best removed. However I do not worry about that. The snail is the petit gris an import so you could rummage around the leaves and squash them. This snail will not survive in established N.Z. bush.
Roots and rhizomes when cooked are edible.

One of the giants of the forest the totara was esteemed by Maori above all other trees. Great war canoes ( waka taua ) were hewn from a single totara trunk.

This is one of the five podocarps indigenous to this area and endemic to NZ. The others are matai, miro, kahikatea and rimu. Podocarps are dioecious ( meaning male and female plants are needed ) and the fruit is edible. They are conifers and their seed cones don't look like cones at all. Their scales are greatly reduced so that their seeds are exposed at an early stage. Only one or two seeds enlarge to maturity, developing a fleshy coat often brightly coloured and berry like in structure.

Conifers generally are wind fertilised and the seeds wind dispersed whereas podocarps are distributed far and wide by birds. Totaras are one of the few conifers that can be clipped at a young stage. For the home garden try podocarpus totara 'Aurea". Slow growing it can be left as a specimen tree or trimmed. A 30 year old one by our front door has been trimmed to a classical tapering form.

The Bells' track has several plantings of totara:- by the lawns at the entrance and a grove that is being formed on the left just before the bridge over the stream.

The timber does not rot and may be used for fence posts and house piles.

One of the giants of the forest the totara was esteemed by Maori above all other trees. Great war canoes ( waka taua ) were hewn from a single totara trunk.

This is one of the five podocarps indigenous to this area and endemic to NZ. The others are matai, miro, kahikatea and rimu. Podocarps are dioecious ( meaning male and female plants are needed ) and the fruit is edible. They are conifers and their seed cones don't look like cones at all. Their scales are greatly reduced so that their seeds are exposed at an early stage. Only one or two seeds enlarge to maturity, developing a fleshy coat often brightly coloured and berry like in structure.

Conifers generally are wind fertilised and the seeds wind dispersed whereas podocarps are distributed far and wide by birds. Totaras are one of the few conifers that can be clipped at a young stage. For the home garden try podocarpus totara 'Aurea". Slow growing it can be left as a specimen tree or trimmed. A 30 year old one by our front door has been trimmed to a classical tapering form.

The Bells' track has several plantings of totara:- by the lawns at the entrance and a grove that is being formed on the left just before the bridge over the stream.

The timber does not rot and may be used for fence posts and house piles.

Found throughout the country except for Stewart Island. Grows on forest floors, banks and the edges of bush tracks.

The plants form tussocks 50cm high. The flowers appear from late spring to early summer followed by handsome purple berries on slender stalks.

We have planted ( thanks to the Chan family) Dianella on the right hand side of the track just at the entrance next to the second grassed area.

One of our few deciduous species and maybe the worlds tallest fuchsia. A small tree about 12 m tall with a trunk up to 60 cm or more in diameter. The bark is very distinctive being orange brown and separating in narrow papery strips. The flowers 20 - 30mm long, green and purple when young, change after pollination to red. The pollen is blue and birds feeding off them can sometimes appear blue. The berries arrive in spring and summer are called Konini and are edible.

Kotukutuku are found by the stream at the entrance. As they are the favourite food of many birds lets hope they get spread around.. Also favoured by possums they became rare as a result. Possum eradication programmes should also enable more of these beautiful trees to survive.

A tree up to 10 m tall. It is found throughout the country. The juvenile stage ha densely interlaced twigs and small leaves. The adult branches are stouter and not interlaced.

The flowers are small, white and wind pollinated. The berries are black, 8-9mm long. Flowering is from late spring though summer with berries from mid summer through autumn.

Ian and Philip have planted some in their patch on the far side of the stream at the entrance.. It will be some years before they are clearly evident but will in time be most attractive.

It is a shrub to a small tree up to 6m tall. Although it has small dry fruits it belongs to the same family as orange and other citrus fruits. It is noted for its yellow greenish leaves that when crushed have a citrus smell.

Its flowers are in clusters at branch tips, small and green with 4 petals. These are followed by distinctive seed capsules. The black seeds remain attached until eaten by birds.

A good tree for the home garden. There are some at the beginning of the track on the right hand side and a few more further up on the left side.