In life, there are many things and people from whom we can draw inspiration.
Today, my focus is close to home and literally less than 500 steps away, where nature has adjusted to the busyness of urban life.
It always amazes me how many things I’ve taken for granted around me while living in central Tauranga city, especially the history behind our magnificent old trees. How many of you walk past huge trees and think about who planted them, and perhaps why?
We’re surrounded by a variety of established trees, and one particular iconic line runs along the northern side of Cameron Road, right alongside the Tauranga and Wharepai Domains.
These beauties are pūriri (Vitex lucens), and we are fortunate to have an avenue of them down Cameron Road and beside the Tauranga Domain.
A brief history of the Pūriri tree
This stand of trees was soon referred to as the Pūriri Avenue
The idea for this avenue of trees began when the Tauranga Beautifying Society received approval to plant pūriri (Vitex lucens) in July 1927. They planted the eastern side of the road, followed by the western side in 1932; they needed replacements in 1934 when some of the originals did not survive.
In 1947, a large number of giant bright green pepe-tuna (Aenetus virescens | pūriri moth | ghost moth), New Zealand’s largest moth, were reported in downtown Tauranga. These are New Zealand’s largest moths, found only in the North Island, and their wingspan can reach 15cm. Their caterpillars live in leaf litter, eating fungus and rotten wood for about 2-3 months, then climb a tree and create a 7-shaped burrow where they can grow up to 10 cm long over up to 6 years. The caterpillar then pupates, and the moth emerges from October to December, living for a mere 48 hours to mate and lay up to 2,000 eggs on the forest floor. Several sources suggest that the moths most likely seen at streetlights are the males. Sadly, these numbers are no longer seen, perhaps due to deforestation and pesticide use.
Pūriri trees can grow up to 20 metres tall. Their lovely, green, polished-looking leaves have wavy borders and are palmate, meaning they resemble a hand with fingers spread, with three to five leaflets, or ‘fingers’, attached. Colourful, 3 cm-long reddish-pink tubular flowers are mainly seen in winter; this author observed them on the Tauranga stand of pūriri in June 2021, along with bright red berries. Tūī especially love the flowers for their nectar, and kererū (native pigeon) eat the fruit, helping disperse the seed. The pūriri is self-fertile and seems to grow best in the upper half of the North Island. They can also live to a great age, as seen in a massive pūriri tree, ‘ Taketakerau ‘ at Hukutaia Domain in Ōpōtiki, estimated to be around 2,000 years old.
Māori especially valued pūriri wood for its longevity, using it for garden tools and weapons, and later settlers used it for railway sleepers, shipbuilding, and house blocks. The wood had other uses, such as creating hinaki (eel traps), as it was one of the few native timbers that would sink. Later, people discovered that the heartwood could be used to make a bright yellow dye to add colour to muka (flax fibre).
Pūriri were used as burial trees, with a leaf infusion used to wash the dead and a mourning coronet of leaves worn during tangi.
Rongoā (traditional Māori medicine) has several applications for pūriri, especially as a remedy for rheumatism. People boil the leaves in water to make an infusion to treat backache, joint pain, sprains, ulcers, and sore throats. The leaves’ strong antiseptic qualities mean they can be made into a balm to stop infection in wounds and cuts.
Today, this beautiful stand of hardy pūriri trees brings many benefits to our community, and as mentioned, my admiration for these trees is immense, and we are especially fortunate to have so many healthy specimens here in Tauranga.
