Overview
red pine
Dacrydium cupressinum
Habit: Tall tree.
Claims to fame: A valued timber, and probably the dominant tall tree of New Zealand’s present forests.
Traditional uses: The fleshy stalks of the seeds can be eaten. Was used to brew beer by Captain Cook. Crowe (2004, A Field Guide to the Native Edible Plants of New Zealand, Penguin) provides the recipe. Also used to treat skin problems, burns, baldness, and to stop bleeding (Brooker et al., 2002, New Zealand Medicinal Plants, Reed).
Distribution/ecology: In wetter forests throughout New Zealand. Native only to New Zealand.
Relationships: A conifer in the podocarp family, along with kahikatea, matai, miro, and totara.
Identification: The drooping branches, with small scale-like leaves, are distinctive.
Bush City locations: On the upper loop track, near the Coastal Rainforest (4).