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When the European settlers arrived, New Zealand was rich in timber resources, much of which was still being extensively logged up until recent years. They also brought many exotic plants which now dominate the 'civilised' landscape. Many of our indigenous trees are at risk and logging is strictly controlled. Most of the New Zealand timbers I use are demolition timbers.

For more information, please visit the links below

http://www.tiritirimatangi.org.nz/Trees.htm
 
http://www.teara.govt.nz

abbrv: m = 1 metric metre (1000 metric millimetres)
Red Beech
aka Tawhairaunui
aka Nothofagus Fusca
Grows to a height of 30m with a smooth, whitish bark when young, turning grey and deeply furrowed when old. The heartwood is light to medium red/brown, sapwood is light brown.
This is a very durable timber.

Silver Beech
aka Tawhai
aka Nothofagus Maeziasii 		    
Silver Beech is a beautiful and tall tree reaching a height of 30m, with a trunk up to 2m through. Cherry-like bark on young trees, greyish and furrowed when old, the timber is a pale pink colour with a fine grain structure.
The tree is found in forests from sea level to 900m, but is scarcely found in the North Island. There are some dense stands in Southland and the Westport area.
Silver Beech is excellent for furniture production. The 12,000 Olympic torches which runners used to carry the flame around the world, and ultimately to Athens in August 2004 were made from tawhai.

Kahikatea
aka White Pine
aka Podocarpus spicatus
Kahikatea is the tallest of the native trees and grows up to 60m. The trunk is up to 1.6m across with smooth greyish bark.
The tree is found throughout New Zealand to an altitude of 600m but mainly in lowland forests and on swampy land.
The timber is odourless and has been widely used in the past for the manufacture of butter boxes. The heartwood is of yellow colour has also been used for boatbuilding. Sap wood is almost white. It is a perishable wood and requires protection.

Kauri
aka Agathis australis 		    
Kauri is the most famous native tree of New Zealand, and also one of the largest in the world.
The tree grows up to an average of 30m and a massive 3m in diameter. The bark is light grey, hammer marked and comes away in flakes. The timber is light and very durable and of a straw or amber colour, virtually free from knots and other defects.
Swamp Kauri is heavier and weaker but the colour highlights are much improved. The depth of colour depends on the PH of the swamp the trees were buried in.
Kauri once covered much of the area of North Auckland and the Coromandel, but to date there are only relatively small areas where it grows.
Maori have been known to construct a 25 meter canoe out of a single Kauri trunk. It is our most popular boat building wood. It is easily worked with a great "glow" to the finish.
Today's resources are minimal, and Kauri logs are being salvaged from swamps where it has been buried for up to 45,000 years, and from forest floors. You can buy items crafted from swamp Kauri which have a certificate of authenticity as to the age of the timber, but there is no guarantee that that item was from a log that has been carbon or ring dated.
Much of this timber was felled and buried by the Taupo eruption about 26,500 years ago. Although two pieces of Northland Kauri have been carbon dated at 45,000 + years old by Waikato University. Therefore almost all Swamp Kauri recovered is advertised as 45,500 year old workable timber, and although some do give a 30,000 - 40,000 dating to their items, not every tree recovered has been dated, and some may be much younger, as for example the Waikato Swamp Kauri at 26,500years. This is easily dated, not from the timber, but the volcanic ash that surrounds the logs, and there are areas of swamp where the trees are much younger and cover several tree species.

Liquid-Amber
aka American Red Gum
aka Sweet Gum
aka Liquidamber styraciflua

A beautiful garden tree but with a bad habit of dropping large branches or splitting out from the top, so felled garden trees are fairly common. Colour is variable from white to mid brown.
Dry timber used as firewood is hard to split, however the wood works like a soft wood, and although I haven't tried, it apparently takes a stain well.

Matai
aka Black Pine
aka Prumnopitys taxifolia
Like most of our natives it is becoming rare to obtain. But it is still being milled on occasion.
Matai is a robust tree reaching up to 30m with a tall straight trunk up to 1.3m across and grows up to 700m altitude. Matai trees can be easily recognised by their flaking hammer mark grey bark. The leaves are aromatic when crushed. The wood is variable in colour from straw to golden brown, and dark brown to black.
Matai grows throughout New Zealand but is abundant in the central North Island.
It is heavy wood that is good to work with, and pleasing because of the range of colours. Although the black timber is hard to find now, as it was not a prized colour in the past and now is only of use to wood workers as a highlight wood. The timber often changes colour markedly depending on whether you are viewing across or along the grain.
In the sizes I work with it is readily steam bent. Very hard wearing and was used for floor boards but I also find some house framing sizes as well.

Rewarewa
aka Honey Suckle
aka Knightia excelsa
Named for the flowers that resemble English honey suckle and the cell like pattern in the wood giving it a honey comb look. Grows up to 30m and is a tall upright tree which forms a column a shape that is very distinctive. It is a beautiful wood when quarter sawn, light brown with dark to black cell edges.
It is prone to warping and twisting in the drying stage and is hard and very wear resistant. Work with the grain and it can be planed and sanded with ease. It can occasionally prove difficult to work in small pieces due to the softer dark wood sloughing off the worked edges.
A heavy wood that is best used in small inlays or strips to avoid the "busy" look

Rimu
aka Red Pine
aka Dacrydium cupressinum 		    

Rimu grows to between 20-35m and sometimes up to 50m. The trunk is up to 1.5m through and the bark is dark brown with a flaking texture. It has pine like qualities when planed and sanded and can be steam bent. The sapwood is fairly plain, but the heart wood can have an interesting grain.
It is one of our cheaper natives and readily available.
Rimu is one of the best known species in New Zealand, is an excellent timber tree and is much prized by woodworkers. The dust from sanding can cause lung problems

Salu-Salu
aka Pacific Rimu
aka Decussocarpus Vitiensis
This is not a New Zealand timber, but is now common in timber stacks. Sold as Pacific Rimu, Pac Rimu or even just as Rimu, it is commonly used as an alternative to sap-wood Rimu.
Very soft to use, takes 3x as much oil as other timbers to get a reasonable finish.
Mostly used for furniture and mouldings. A very pale uninteresting straight grained wood. The timber will darken with age but in no way matches NZL Rimu for finish quality.

Tawa
aka Beilschmiedia tawa
Tawa is a tall erect forest tree which develops buttress roots as it grows old. The white wood is straight grained, but soft. It belongs to the same family as Bay tree (laurel). Dry heartwood is bright creamy brown except for contrasting dark brown to black pathological heart in large logs. Sapwood is difficult to distinguish from heartwood. The grain is moderately fine and straight.
This is a hardwood that is prone to shrinkage, warping and twisting in the drying stage.

Totara
aka Podocarpus totara
Totara is one of the majestic forest canopy trees growing from sea level to 600m, with a straight trunk up to 20m, at around 100 years of age. Totara is also recognised by the distinctive bark, which flakes off in thick brown slabs. The timber is soft and of a beautiful reddish colour with a straight grain.
It has been extensively used by Maori to build meeting houses, carved panels and carved canoes. It was used extensively for house piles and fence posts because of its extreme durability.
The timber however contains natural oil which makes it very difficult to paint, however, it is still a prized carving timber.