Kohekohe (Didymocheton spectabilis) is a medium-sized tree in the Meliaceae family, native to New Zealand.[2] It is found in lowland and coastal forests throughout most of the North Island and also occurs in the Marlborough Sounds in the north of the South Island. Mature trees grow up to 15 metres (49 ft) in height, with a trunk up to a metre in diameter.[3]
The name kohekohe is derived from Proto-Polynesian *kofe meaning a type of bamboo (ʻohe); its thickening leaf stem bases may have reminded early Polynesian settlers to those of the ʻohe.[4] A fairly close relative of true mahogany (Swietenia), it is also called New Zealand mahogany, because its wood is light, strong and polishes to a fine red colour.[5]
Kohekohe is notable for having characteristics normally associated with trees growing in the tropics, for example, its flowers and fruit grow directly from the trunk or branches (known as cauliflory), and it has large, glossy, pinnate leaves up to 40 cm in length. The inflorescences of kohekohe may be up to 30 cm long, and the flowers produce a strong sweet smell.[6] The large green fruit takes around fifteen months to ripen. The fruit contains three or four cells containing a seed encased in a fleshy orange-coloured aril. The tree does not flower in the year while the fruit capsules are maturing, and therefore individual trees may flower in alternate years.[7]
Kohekohe forest used to be common in damp coastal and lowland areas in the North Island, but these forests have mostly disappeared because the land was used for settlement or they were browsed by possums.[5] Studies have shown rapid recovery in kohekohe canopy after implementation of possum control.[8]
Māori boiled the bark in water and drank it as a tonic.[2] The wood was used for building canoes but is soft and not as durable as other woods and tends to rot quickly. It is valued for carving. Kohekohe was probably the dominant vegetation cover on Kapiti Island before it was cleared in the early 19th century for cultivation and farming. The kohekohe forest on Kapiti is recovering after possums were eradicated in 1986.
^"Plants of the World Online: Didymocheton spectabilis (G.Forst.) Mabb. & Holzmeyer". Retrieved 9 February 2024.
^ ab"Kohekohe, Dysoxylum - Faculty of Science - The University of Auckland". 8 February 2013. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
^de Lange, P.J. (2022). "Didymocheton spectabilis". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
^"Kohe, Kohekohe". Te Māra Reo. Benson Family Trust. 2023.
^Roper, Gil (20 August 2021). "Know the native tree species in Tawa reserves with Gil Roper – Kohekohe trees in winter". Friends of Tawa Bush. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
^Salmond, John T. (1989). The Native Trees of New Zealand. Heinemann-Reed. pp. 240–241. ISBN 0790001047.
^Nugent, Graham; Whitford, Jackie; Innes, John; Prime, Kevin (2002). "Rapid recovery of kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile) following possum control" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 26 (1). Retrieved 31 January 2022.
Kohekohe (Didymocheton spectabilis) is a medium-sized tree in the Meliaceae family, native to New Zealand. It is found in lowland and coastal forests throughout...
mahogany) and Entandrophragma (sapele mahogany); New Zealand mahogany or kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile); Chinese mahogany, Toona sinensis; Indonesian mahogany...
Tararua Range). The island's vegetation is dominated by scrub and forest of kohekohe, tawa, and kanuka. Most of the forest is regenerating after years of burn-offs...
seedlings of the kohekohe, or Dysoxylum spectabile; the most obvious difference is that pūriri leaflets originate from one point, whereas kohekohe leaflets are...
The traditional Māori name for Pukekohe Hill, Pukekohekohe ("Hill of Kohekohe") refers to Dysoxylum spectabile, also known as the New Zealand mahogany...
require larger gaps to regenerate than such broadleaf trees as pūriri and kohekohe that show far more shade tolerance. Unlike kauri, these broadleaf species...
comprised wetlands divided by a complex pattern of natural waterways and kohekohe wooded regions. Wetlands remain a diminishing feature of the region but...
atrofaciens attacks wheat Triticum aestivum. P. s. pv. dysoxylis attacks the kohekohe tree Dysoxylum spectabile. P. s. pv. glycinea attacks soybean Glycine max...
second-growth forest is dominated by silverfern, nīkau palm, mahoe, and kohekohe. As adults these giant wētā live a nomadic lifestyle. This type of lifestyle...
vegetation and removing rock in breach of the Auckland Unitary Plan. Tūī in a kohekohe tree on Almorah Road King Fern (Ptisana salicina) in the Almorah Rock Forest...
Pukekiwiriki have remnant native forest, dominated by taraire, pūriri and kohekohe trees. The hill has a flat summit, which became the location of a pā, known...
of basalt lava flows. The traditional Māori name Pukekohekohe ("Hill of Kohekohe") refers to Dysoxylum spectabile, also known as the New Zealand mahogany...
In March Kingites obstructed the construction of a police station at Te Kohekohe, near Meremere, and raided the property at Te Awamutu occupied by magistrate...
In March Kingites obstructed the construction of a police station at Te Kohekohe, near Meremere, and 80 armed warriors raided the 80 hectare property at...
rival Māori tribe raided the village and fugitives subsisted among the Kohekohe (a native tree) groves on Tokareireia (Kaikohe Hill). After the incident...
Norwood Rose Garden. There are areas of predominantly kānuka, kamahi or kohekohe, but also large hinau and rata trees that have survived since pre-European...
magistrate and chief of police, in charge of the official runanga at Te Kohekohe, south of Meremere. He asked that a wooden courthouse be built there for...
the podocarp forest of the lower slopes is tawa, with scattered rimu, kohekohe and a few other trees. The subcanopy has tree ferns, including wheki and...
Global Information
