Puriri on Puriri Drive (Auckland) Traditional Cache
Puriri on Puriri Drive (Auckland)
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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An actual Puriri tree this time.
Do NOT climb the tree please
The Puriri tree can grow up to 20 m tall, with a trunk commonly up to 1.5 m in diameter, frequently thicker, and a broad spreading crown(9). The thin bark is usually smooth and light brown in colour(1), but can also be very flaky. Puriri was actively and selectively logged in the past to provided timber for a wide range of end uses. Only the best trees were felled, leaving the gnarled puriri often found on farm paddocks. This has given the impression that puriri is incapable of growing straight, but early reports of puriri describe naturally clear boles of 15 to 30 feet (4.5 to 9 m)(5) and there are still a few trees like that left. A good example of a well-shaped tree is behind Ruapekapeka Pa in Northland.
The dark green glossy leaves of puriri are palmate (=palm of hand; hand like) with usually 5 leaflets, or sometimes three. The lowest two leaflets are smaller than the other three. The leaflets have domatia, little pockets where the mid vein and branching veins meet(1). Nobody is quite sure what domatia are for. The underside and veins are a lighter green. (22). Seedling leaves are much more delicate and a lighter green with serrations along the edge(4). Seedling puriri can be confused with seedling kohekohe, Dysoxylum spectabile, the most obvious difference is that puriri leaflets originate from one point, whereas kohekohe leaflets are spread along the stalk. The branches of puriri, especially the young ones, are square in cross-section.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Uvc uvtu ubyr (ab gur bgure bar)