The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Hi, I was impressed with the size of this Karaka. Is it very common to find them this size in the Wellington region? Any guess to its age?

John - How tall is it? From what little can judge from the image it does not seem to me to be exceptional - for example, take a drive down to the mouth of the Wainuiomata River and you will see larger, taller trees than what I think the dimensions of your one appears to be. As far as I know you cannot easily age karaka because they don't produce annular growth rings. Someone else who knows more on this subject may be able to help you on that part of your question.

Ciao Peter

Hi John,

I know from my walks around Wellington many years ago there are quite a few Karaka trees and many that appear the size of your specimen.
An interesting aspect of Karaka if you read the page on it is the line:
"Most botanists accept it as native only to the northern half of the North Island."
So that would suggest Karaka was not originally native to Wellington and hence naturalised after Maori introduced it.
I am not sure as to how to age Karaka either sorry...