Tī Kōuka

Tī kōuka looks amazing! It is an icon native New Zealand tree that can grow up to 15 to 20 meters high with massive trunks up to 1.5 meters in diameter.

The tī kōuka tree is also known as a cabbage tree. It has green, pointy leaves and a rough trunk which is fire resistant. It has lovely scented flowers in summer.

The tī kōuka is special because they can grow all over the country! But they prefer wet open areas!

It was once a staple diet of early māori. The root, stem and top are all edible and a good source of starch and sugar.

Māori used tī kōuka for making paper rope, string, medicine and even beer.

Europeans used tī kōuka to make chimneys so they can be warm in their huts.

It is important to grow more more tī kōuka because it is a native plant and we don’t want introduced plants to take over our natives.

By Payton, Deimos, Abulfazl, Nova, Dakota and Ava