Botanical name:

Litsea calicaris

Common name(s):

Mangeao, tangeao

About:

A small bushy tree that presents an attractive display, bearing glossy green, thin, and undulating oval leaves, accompanied by dark purple fruit. The leaves skilfully taper to both the tip and base, featuring a distinctive dark leaf stalk that enhances their overall appearance. Additionally, the flowers are yellowish in hue and form in delightful clusters, adding a charming aspect to the tree's character.

Natural habitat:

Coastal lowland and lower montane forest. Mangeao is usually a fairly localised tree over much of its range but in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty, particularly on the deep so called “ash” soils and on the limestones in the western Waikato it can be the dominant canopy tree. Although mangaeo seems to like high rainfall it is (or was) also an important tree on the lava fields of Auckland, and it is one of the few tree species to grow on the ultramafic rocks of North Cape.

Growing environment:

Sun, Shade, Salt, Wind & Coastal tolerant.

Endemic distribution:

New Zealand’s Three Kings and North Islands. Common to about Mokau in the west and the Rotorua lakes area and Mahia Peninsula in the east.

Height: 18m

Flowering: 

September – November with a yellow coloured flower/s

Fruiting:

September - March

Uses:

Bird food / Attractant, Bee food, Riparian plantings, Forests & Timber

How to grow:

Although easily grown from seed mangeao is often fickle and hard to maintain. In nursery conditions seedlings and saplings can be difficult to maintain. Even apparently well established trees will in cultivation inexplicably die. It for this reason that mangaeo is rarely available from nurseries.

** Seed germinates without pre treatment. 4 weeks cold stratification will help speed this up though