Toromiro, Miro, Brown pine
Podocarpus ferrugineus

Family: Podocarpaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows to 25 m high. The trunk is straight. There are branches only near the top. The bark is almost black and peels off in chunks. The leaves when dry are spiky and rust coloured. In the male tree the single flower turns into a small cone. On the female tree the flower grows on a curved scaly stalk. This becomes an oval fleshy fruit with a hard stone. It is about 2.5 cm long. It is reddish-purple in colour.

Where it is found

It occurs in both lowland and mountain forest in New Zealand.

Countries/locations it is found in

New Zealand (country/location of origin)

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Prumnopitys ferruginea