Common plant names for Māori Language Week

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For many of New Zealand’s indigenous plants, the Māori name is the ‘common’ name, and English names are rarely, if ever, used; think rimu, tōtara, kauri, pōhutukawa, and mamaku.

Other species have both Māori and English names, but it is the latter that is predominant, at least in my experience. Below are some such examples involving common and likely familiar plants.

Because it is Māori Language Week, perhaps you can look out for these plants and put their Māori name to use. How many can you spot (and name in te reo) this week?!

(Common names are hard to define. Some plants have multiple Māori and/or English names, sometimes with regional variation. Not all are recorded in the mainstream literature. I use the A Dictionary of Maori Plant Names by James Beever (1991, Auckland Botanical Society) as my guide to Māori names for plants.)

tī kōuka, cabbage tree, Cordyline australis

Tī kōuka (sometimes simply tī) is a familiar part of many landscapes around New Zealand. Photo © Leon Perrie.
Tī kōuka (sometimes simply tī) is a familiar part of many landscapes around New Zealand. Photo © Leon Perrie.

whauwhaupaku, five finger, Pseudopanax arboreus

Whauwhaupaku is readily recognised by its leaves with (usually) five stalked leaflets. It is common in the North Island, and extends into the South Island, with a southern limit around Dunedin. Photo © Leon Perrie.
Whauwhaupaku is readily recognised by its leaves with (usually) five stalked leaflets. It is common in the North Island, and extends into the South Island, with a southern limit around Dunedin. Photo © Leon Perrie.

tarata, lemonwood, Pittosporum eugenoides

Tarata is a widespread tree that is also common in cultivation, because of its fast growth and lemon-scented flowers. The leaves, when crushed, also smell of lemon. Photo © Leon Perrie.
Tarata is a widespread tree that is also common in cultivation, because of its fast growth and lemon-scented flowers. The leaves, when crushed, also smell of lemon. Photo © Leon Perrie.

tawhai, beech, Fuscospora and Lophozonia (was Nothofagus)

Tawhai trees dominate much of New Zealand’s remaining forests, being adapted to cold (or dry) conditions. If you want to be more specific, tawhairaunui can be used for red and hard beech, and tawhairauriki for black and mountain beech. The photo shows silver beech, known simply as tawhai. Photo © Leon Perrie.
Tawhai trees dominate much of New Zealand’s remaining forests, being adapted to cold (or dry) conditions. If you want to be more specific, tawhairaunui can be used for red and hard beech, and tawhairauriki for black and mountain beech. The photo shows silver beech, known simply as tawhai. Photo © Leon Perrie.

 porokaiwhiri, pigeonwood, Hedycarya arborea

Porokaiwhiri is a common and widespread small tree. Photo © Leon Perrie.
Porokaiwhiri is a common and widespread small tree. Photo © Leon Perrie.

pāpāuma, broadleaf, Griselinia littoralis

Common in colder, upland forests, pāpāuma (also known as kāpuka) is a small tree now popular in cultivation, for its large, lime-green leaves and for making an attractive hedge! Photo © Leon Perrie.
Common in forests of colder areas, pāpāuma (also known as kāpuka) is a small tree now popular in cultivation, for its large, lime-green leaves and for making an attractive hedge! Photo © Leon Perrie.

huruhuruwhenua, shining spleenwort, Asplenium oblongifolium

Finally, because ferns are almost mandatory in my blog posts, here is huruhuruwhenua. Huruhuruwhenua is common in the lowlands of the North Island and northern South Island. Its close relative, paranako (shore spleenwort, Asplenium obtusatum), is common around the coast of the South Island.
Finally, because ferns are almost mandatory in my blog posts, here is huruhuruwhenua. Huruhuruwhenua is common in the lowlands of the North Island and northern South Island. Its close relative, paranako (shore spleenwort, Asplenium obtusatum), is common around the coast of the South Island.

 

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Botany Curator
I specialise in the taxonomy (i.e., naming) and evolution of New Zealand’s ferns, often using DNA analyses to address issues that can’t be resolved by consideration of the external features of the plants alone. I enjoy exploring new places, even if it is only to see plants I’ve never before encountered in the wild!

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9 Comments

  1. Author

    Kia ora Judy. Are these the bottlebrush plants you’re interested in? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callistemon While cultivated in New Zealand and occasionally a bit weedy here, these plants are native to Australia.

  2. Author

    Kia ora Karen. I don’t know that name, and I can’t find any reference to it. Apologies also for the slow reply.

  3. Hello…. I was wondering, what was the local name for what the incomers called Bottle brush?

  4. Wondering if you can help us, we are trying to find the botanical and Maori name for a plant commonly known as Maori Head. Have you heard of it? It apparently grows in Dunedin

  5. Author

    Thanks David – you’re experimental proof that humans *can* survive whauwhaupaku fruit.

  6. Birds eat the fruit of whauwhaupaku, that suggests they are not very poisonous, but the taste is far too strong for me.

  7. Good one Leon.
    I was interested to learn the name pāpāuma. I’ve always used kāpuka which, as you say, is another Maori name for broadleaf.
    Cheers

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