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Illustrated by RJJB
Tōtara is a massive forest tree endemic to New Zealand. It’s the largest tree of the Podocarpaceae, reaching over 42 m (140 ft) tall. Being a podocarp, it doesn’t grow woody cones like other conifers. Instead, to compete with angiosperms, tōtaras reduced their cones to just a few scales that become brightly colored and succulent with a single seed poised on top. They’re undeniably tasty to birds which disperse their seeds, and which have played an outsized role in the evolution of plants on the long-isolated islands.
Illustrated by RJJB
Tōtara is a massive forest tree endemic to New Zealand. It’s the largest tree of the Podocarpaceae, reaching over 42 m (140 ft) tall. Being a podocarp, it doesn’t grow woody cones like other conifers. Instead, to compete with angiosperms, tōtaras reduced their cones to just a few scales that become brightly colored and succulent with a single seed poised on top. They’re undeniably tasty to birds which disperse their seeds, and which have played an outsized role in the evolution of plants on the long-isolated islands.