Totara Tree Single Sided Wooden Puzzle
One of the largest trees in the forest, the Totara can reach heights of up to 30m with a trunk diameter in excess of 2m. The bark is thick and fibrous, often deeply furrowed and string‐like/peeling off in strips. Totara is common in lowland, mountain & subalpine forests throughout New Zealand. The leaves vary in colour from a dull brownish‐green (on juveniles) to a deep dark green. They can be straight ranging through to slightly curved and pointed. The nut like seeds (green when ripe) are produced from the tip of a red or orange swollen and succulent receptacle. As a timber Totara is light in weight, not liable to twist, easily worked and extremely durable. As a result it serves many uses amongst them; poles, posts, bridging, window & door frames. Its timber was prized by Maori as being the best for fashioning their massive Waka and also the main timber used for carving. Ancient Maori custom demanded that when a young Totara tree was felled, a seedling must be planted to appease Tane, the God of the Forest.