The Tawa tree (Beilschmiedia tawa) is a New Zealand broadleaf tree common in coastal areas in the central parts of the country.The word "tawa" is originated from maori language.Tawa tree's often represent the dominant canopy species in lowland forests in the north island and north east of the south island but will also will often form the subcanopy in primary forests throughout the country beneath podocarp's such as Kahikatea, Matai, Miro and Rimu, individual specimens may grow up to 30 metres or more in height with trunks up to 1.2 metres in diameter, they have smooth dark bark. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are a major group of land plants. ... Orders see text Dicotyledons or dicots are flowering plants whose seed contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. ... Families Atherospermataceae Calycanthaceae Gomortegaceae Hernandiaceae Lauraceae Monimiaceae Siparunaceae The Laurales are an order of flowering plants. ... Genera Many; see text The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Binomial name Beilschmiedia tawa The Tawa tree (Beilschmiedia tawa) is a New Zealand broadleaf tree common in coastal areas in the central parts of the country. ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... Māori (or Maori) is a language spoken by the native peoples of New Zealand and the Cook Islands. ... Binomial name Dacrycarpus dacrydioides Kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides) is an endemic tree found in New Zealand. ... This page deals with the New Zealand tree. ... Miro may refer to: A conifer tree endemic to New Zealand. ... Rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum) is a large evergreen coniferous tree native to the forests of New Zealand. ...

Tawa tree's produce small inconspicuous flowers followed by 2-3.5 cm long fruits of a dark red plum colour. With such large fruits the Tawa is notable for the fact that it relies soley on the NZ woodpigeon ( kereru) and -where present-, the North island Kokako for dispersal of it's seed, these being the only remaining birds from New Zealand's original biota large enough to consume these fruits and subsequently process the seed's through their gut and excrete them. Biota can refer to several things: The plant and animal life of a region; see biota (ecology) A municipality in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain; see Biota (municipality) A superdomain in taxonomy; see Biota (taxonomy) Biota Holdings, the Australian biotech company This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other...

This tree gives its name to a northern suburb of Wellington, Tawa. Wellington (Te Whanganui-a-Tara or Poneke) is the capital city of New Zealand, the countrys second-largest urban area and the most populous national capital city in Oceania. ... Tawa is a locality between Wellington and Porirua in the North Island of New Zealand. ...

Uses

One of the few Hardwood tree's in the country with good timber, the wood of this tree can be used for attractive and resilient floorboarding. Although largely protected in conservation areas and by robust environmental legislation, licences are occassionally granted for the odd fallen tree to be taken for it's timber. Beech is a typical temperate zone hardwood The term hardwood designates wood from angiosperm trees. ...

External links

http://www.centurytimber.co.nz/species.asp

• A short scientific paper on the ecology of this tree - http://www.nzes.org.nz/nzje/free_issues/NZJEcol10_137.pdf

References

"Flora of New Zealand", volume 1, H.H. Allan, Government printer, 1961

"Nature guide to the New Zealand Forest", John Dawson and Rob Lucas, Godwit, 2000