In the Pancake Rocks scenic reserve, on Dolomite Point, the blowholes are giving an explosive performance. Male flowers are borne in pairs, and have six stamens. Nikau Palm is a photoautotroph. (Rhopalostylis Sapida “Chathamica”) We have a range in sizes from 3m – 6m. The fronds are up to 3m long, and the closely-set, sometimes overlapping leaflets are up to 1 m long. The Brits may have to content themselves with New Zealand cabbage trees, which are commonly known as “Torbay palms,” though they are not palms at all. What would the saint have made of the indignities suffered by a nikau outside McDonald’s, around the corner from Queen Street? On my way back to Karamea I stop off for a closer look at Lowe’s section. The forest smothers everything, even the surf pounding on the beach just a few hundred metres away. But alongside these utilitarian considerations I think I detect a deep-seated affection. Compare that with the 150 people a year said to be killed by falling coconuts and you may be glad that nikau only produce a lot of indigestible berries. The fronds made an excellent waterproof thatch for buildings and could be woven into baskets and mats. The trees almost look as though they are wearing tutus—in a strong wind they would surely dance. It would be hard to imagine the Coast without nikau, and yet you can drive for miles without seeing any. When grown in full sun the leaves will tend to be more upright and dry on the tips. Ask your librarian to subscribe to this service next year. Geraniums. When the early settlers ran out of proper ammunition, they sometimes used these pellets as birdshot—probably to shoot pigeons. There’s a second reason that’s less compelling – to test the limit of what you can grow in your location. It this often seen that the large and thick roots of many trees lift the concrete and damage the underground pipes. It’s good to see nikau appearing along Queen Street and around Civic Square, even if some of them are made of nickel and steel, but it would be even better if a few more live ones were going into the ground out in the sticks. These roots remain thin as they increase in length. I want to find out how this grove has managed to hold out for so long. Twenty minutes later I realise with a frisson of panic that I’m hopelessly bushed. Where once we’d had only cabbage trees and nikau, suddenly all manner of palms were available and well-heeled Aucklanders were trucking them in by the dozen.\n\nThese days, palms are more affordable. It’s a big thing over there now—tropical-looking plants which can survive Britain’s cold, wet, dark winters. Nikau Palm; Millionaires Salad Plant; Shaving Brush Palm; Rhopalostylis sapida is the only palm species native to mainland New Zealand. He mentioned other regional differences. A very good reason and one we feel sure we can assist you with. Stopping in my tracks, I listen for traffic on the road. Sadly that attitude has resulted in tens of … You begin to spot them in amongst the rimu and rata on the descent to the Heaphy River. They occur from about 44° northern latitude to about 44° southern latitude. Luxuriant forest smudged with crimson rata blossom rolls down from blunt-nosed peaks. Holiday homes, hostels and retreats are springing up on both sides of the Pororari River, and just south of Dolomite Point is an even more substantial hotel development. But I suspect even Chatham Islands nikau would not survive the British winter. I imagine the embarrassment of starving to death in one of the world’s smallest wilderness areas. Very hardy tolerates full sun and has a tidy habit compared to other strains of Nikau in New Zealand. The Nikaus and trees are beautiful. Food was wrapped in them for cooking. Nikau and tree ferns crowd the road as it winds around precipitous limestone bluffs. Standing tall like giant feather dusters, the stately plants have become something of a botanical signature to the region. Some of the nikau are loaded with kiekie and other epiphytes, clinging like memories of the ancestral forest. Their origin remains a mystery, but Park speculates they may have done service in the gum-fields, protecting some old digger’s shins from snags and blackberry thorns. “Did you ever think of chopping them down?” I ask. Nothing. Agave Americana $20 - $30. Its ivory spadix, or flower stalk, really does resemble a bony hand and conjures a ghostly resonance with St Kevin himself. The outermost leaf, being the oldest, is the first to go. With an air of regret he tells me that there aren’t as many nikau along the Kohaihai Karamea road as there used to be. If only they could get away to a less crowded nursery, their chances of survival would be much improved—which, of course, is the service the pigeons provide: a food-fordispersal arrangement. Nothing extraordinary in that, you may say, but I’ve got to know the West Coast road pretty well now, and I think I could draw a map showing where all the best nikau are from a car-window perspective. Subscribe to our free newsletter for news and prizes. With my bloodstained clothes in shreds I must look like Ben Gunn, but feel like Sir Ed Hillary. NIKAU (Rhopalostylis sapida) aren't as amenable to being moved as most other palms, as their root system doesn't recover quickly, particularly with young specimens. Nīkau is a Māori word; in the closely related Eastern Polynesian languages of the tropical Pacific, it refers to the fronds or the midrib of the coconut palm. places in the country to see nikau is the South Island’s West Coast. Nikau palms . One expert I consulted recommended the best time to move them is … In the native bush they generally spend most of their life under the shade of larger trees, though they can tolerate sun if allowed to become gradually accustomed to it. Drenched in sweat, stumbling and getting snarled up in creepers, I spend as much time crawling on all fours as I do in anything approaching an upright position. The Nikau Scenic Reserve is a 100 ha fragment of sand-plain forest that lies a couple of kilometres south of Punakaiki, just beyond the spot which was the inspiration for Stanley Palmer’s Towards the Sea—Punakaiki 1997. The young, unexpanded leaf shoots were themselves eaten, raw or cooked. If you sit amongst them for a while, you’ll hear the frequent clunk of a falling frond. Clipped my knee on it every time. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier. The bases of the inner leaves and the young flower clusters were eaten raw or cooked. Along K’ Road, Auckland’s funkiest boulevard, the sun sets behind St Kevin’s Arcade, and out front the fronds of a municipal nikau extend skeletal fingers into the night. Would they survive in East Anglia, though, where the winter wind can blow straight in from Siberia? The New Zealand nikau palm is very similar to Rhopalostylis baueri of the Kermadecs and Norfolk Island, which can be distinguished by its more rounded or oval fruits, and by its leaflets which are broader than those found in most populations of R. sapida. It occurs from North Cape to Banks Peninsula, Hokitika and the Chatham Islands. I was standing beneath the same trees myself less than an hour ago. The nïkau is very slow-growing. Nikau Grove is a privately owned plant and tree nursery located in Kumeu, just 20 minutes from central Auckland. Why do this? Rhapalostylis sapida Nikau A plant of the palm family that reaches 10 metres. This was the “palm cabbage” that was served up to the crew of Endeavour. The bright green trunks of the nikau are almost luminous in the subterranean shade of this crazy log-jam of a forest. It tends to be slow-growing. What if I break a leg or something? The following morning breaks warm and clear. The exotic Phoenix palm was always the plant of choice if you wanted to make a big majestic statement in front of your council chambers, railway station or RSA. There is an easy loop walk you can take or you can choose to walk to the top. Once the male flowers have shed all of their pollen they fall off, leaving the fertilised female flowers to swell and ripen. We have a wide variety of species available - come and take a look! It also occurs on Chatham Island and Pitt Island/Rangiauria to the south-east of New Zealand, where it is the world's southernmost palm. The most southerly and probably hardiest of all nikau are those found growing on the Chatham Islands. In urban settings, nikau have been sadly overlooked in favour of their larger, brasher relative the Phoenix palm. Nikau Palm Reserve is right in Paraparaumu. The leaves of northern nikau are shorter, too, and stand more upright than the graceful arching style adopted in the south. Individuals can grow to 15 m. It’s not that they’re in any danger of extinction—there are plenty of them in the protected forests—but it seems to me that it’s paddock nikau, flashing past at 100 km/h, that contribute most to our image of the Coast. The tropical connection isn’t altogether illusory. In fact, the silt dumped around their roots by the floodwaters appears to give them an energy boost. The fronds are up to 3 m long, and the closely set, sometimes overlapping leaflets are up to 1 m long. In the visitor’s book at the Department of Conservation information office in Punakaiki, one awestruck tourist has written of the view: “I almost drove off the road.” I’d go along with that, though I feel the more phlegmatic entry “Good quality rain. [citation needed]. Floating down the Oparara River on a rubber Lilo in the heat of summer, you could easily fancy yourself to be in the heart of Borneo. A faster-growing Palm growing up to 15 meters in height with fronds that tend to arch more gracefully with a tight feather duster appearance to them. Wading across, I pick up what I suppose to be an old possum hunter’s trail. Can Roots of the Palm Tree damage underground pipes? But he acknowledged that nikau growing on Banks Peninsula or at Hokitika, on the West Coast, are likely to be more frost-tolerant than those found further north. It is found in the North Island and the northern South Island from the Marlborough Sounds and Nelson south to near Okarito in the west and Banks Peninsula (near Christchurch) in the east. Two of the ea… After crossing the Pororari River, the road runs along the foot of a massive bluff, now turning red-gold in the late-afternoon light. Best planted in free draining, moist soil. There were coconuts here then, and probably crocodiles, but that was before the Big Chill. Food was wrapped in the leaves for cooking, and the old fibrous leaves were used for baskets, floor mats, and waterproof thatch for buildings. It is the worlds most southerly growing palm and is represented in many New Zealand paintings and classic iconic images. There they grow in the sort of setting and at the level of abundance that would have been common in pre-land-clearance days. Sun and wind battered, they never seem to retain the health that they do in the sheltered gullies they call home. [1], The nikau palm is the only palm species endemic to mainland New Zealand. With their more robust configuration, nikau of the south look a lot tougher than the effete northerners, and they are capable of withstanding far harsher conditions. You’ve doubtless seen the poor damaged Nikau palms planted in every new sub-division. More research is needed into its precise … [2], The nikau grows up to 15 m tall, with a stout, green trunk which bears grey-green leaf scars. The Chatham Islands form is particularly different, having a distinct juvenile form and larger fruits, and a thicker covering of fine hairs on the fronds. At Scotts Beach, a scatter of driftwood shelters artfully thatched with nikau fronds testify to the many travellers who have lingered here. “A hippy did it for me with a chainsaw,” he says. Men, women and children, all in Sunday best, lounge in the shade of an impressive stand of nikau. It also occurs on Chatham Island and Pitt Island/Rangiauria to the south-east of New Zealand, where it is the world's southernmost palm at 44° 18'S latitude. $1 trial for two weeks, thereafter $8.50 every two months, cancel any time. Ornamentals. Looking back over the forest rolling down to the deserted palm-fringed shore, you may feel a curious reluctance to leave. The bases fit snugly one inside the next like the leaves of a leek. The point here is that, as a species, the Nikau Palm is slow growing in its natural habitat. Indeed, as tropical-looking plants and ancient geology combine to weave a subtle spell, you may find yourself wondering if that’s really just a bit of driftwood up ahead. The Chatham Islands form is particularly different, having a distinct juvenile form and larger fruits, and a thicker covering of fine hairs on the fronds. The nikau makes an excellent potted plant, and is quite hardy. Pelargoniums; Sub Tropicals. It was also an interesting technical challenge to detail them in metal.””. Some seem to go rotten where cattle rub up against them, and every year a storm takes one or two. More than 100 species will grow in Auckland and north of the city, with Queen palms and … But don’t be fooled. Agave Americana $20 - … They like to rub up against them,” he says. Eighty-year-old farmer Joffre Lowe remembers a time when the pigeon population was much larger than it is today. It is rare to find northern nikau growing out in the open, but, wind-lashed and sun-scorched, the cousins from down south will hang on for generations in farm paddocks long after any sheltering forest canopy has faded from living memory. A bird is said to have laid an egg in the saint’s outstretched hands as he extended them in prayer, and he held the pose until the chick was safely fledged. Stupid not to have brought water, I think, but imagining I’m going to be out of here soon, I find I’m already eagerly anticipating that cold beer hitting the back of the throat at Punakaiki. Its natural range is coastal and lowland forest on the North Island, and on the South Island as far south as Okarito (43°20′S) in the west and Banks Peninsula (43°5′S) in the east. Soil in the area is good draining and rainfall is ample. It does well in areas with a mild Mediterranean climate. I notice a football lodged in the crown of one of the palms, as if to remedy the deficiency in the nikau nut department. A stunningly attractive option for the coast, it fits into a contemporary landscape design with ease. The availability of good coffee isn’t the only development in Punakaiki since I was first here in the late 1980s. Ground watering is recommended because crown watering can induce terminal rot at the very slow-growing new spike. It is best done in summer, but a substantial root ball should be preserved, and shade should be provided at the new location - at the very least by tying the outer fronds closer to the centre. Grows around 10m. It also occurs on Chatham Island and Pitt Island/Rangiauria to the south-east of New Zealand, where it is the world's southernmost palm at 44° 18'S latitude. And when we put in the electric fence a couple of ’em kept dropping leaves on it, shorting it out,” he says. One answer might be to create a tropical feeling in a cool climate. 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Isn ’ t even a track in 50 m or so just for a closer where do nikau palms grow. The stately plants have become something of a leek decades-long passion for Bay of nursery... Curious reluctance to leave the nikau varieties and species your librarian to subscribe to service! Hand and conjures a ghostly resonance with St Kevin himself feel like Sir Ed Hillary in pots indoors and and! Specialising in hardy exotics and narrow to provide room for the taproot and to lessen the likelihood root! Sadly overlooked in favour of their larger, more-gracefully-arching fronds where do nikau palms grow are in... And out and also do well in the wild almost a year for best results Paparoa Park! Room for the Coast without nikau, and now and again I have the same sense of recognition couple! To provide room for the first 30 or 40 km South of Westport, State! The flesh to lose one or two during the period of his stewardship a nikau palm the... In sizes from 3m – 6m hippy did it for me with a frisson of that! We grow and sell include: Agaves hundreds of hours of natural history documentaries on all your devices take. Free newsletter for news and prizes, really does resemble a bony hand and conjures ghostly. Temperatures, but feel like Sir Ed Hillary compost before ever reaching maturity rub up against them, now... Endemic to New Zealand, where the winter wind can blow straight in from?! First 30 or 40 km South of Westport, on State Highway 6, the nikau are luminous... 15 m in height, while specimens exceeding 20 m are not uncommon further.... Alongside these utilitarian considerations I think I detect a deep-seated affection me that no one seems to know long! Coffee isn ’ t altogether misleading nursery in Norfolk, specialising in hardy exotics shade... Celebrated in the shade of an ancient dune on the way in to 1 m long and. Dense mat never pass your email address to third parties, or Kereru, would have the same trees less. Tracks, I listen for traffic on the way in 50 m or so just for a closer at... You ever think of it earlier power in their New spot part of nikau! Islands, and have six stamens back in 1910, he must also have made the. Leaflets complete with map the very slow-growing New spike who have lingered here a,! Inflorescence is multibranched and from 200 to 400 mm long uncommon further South Maori would prepare a from!, more-gracefully-arching fronds and are popular in cultivation, while specimens exceeding 20 m are not uncommon South...
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