Common Name: Totara

Scientific Name: Podocarpus totara

Height at Maturity: 15-30 meters

 Time to Maturity: 50 to 100+ years

 Growth Rate: Slow

Habitat: Has a wide range of locations from exposed to shaded. A hardy tree that will generally grow anywhere, however does prefer good drainage.

Domesticated Uses: Great as a standalone specimen or kept as a hedge. Used on farms as stock tend to leave it alone.

Medicinal Uses: Historically the smoke was used for skin complained and fevers would be recorded as being reduced by boiling the bark.

Forest Uses: A dominant tree in a mature podocarp forest. 

Flowering: August to December (doesn’t really flower).

Fruiting/Nectar: Fruits March to May and Nectar from October to December.

Birds Life: Tui, Kereru and yellow crowned parakeet especially like the berries.

Planting Instructions: It will grow on a range of site, but does prefer sheltered sites with draining soil. Can plant from 2 meters apart depending on the effect you are after.