Podocarpus totara (), commonly known as the , is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. Found across New Zealand, the tree can grow up to a height of , and is known for its longevity.
The wood of tà Âtara is rot-resistant, and prized in MÃÂori culture, and was often used as a material to create large-scale waka.
The tà Âtara is a medium to large tree, which grows slowly to around exceptionally to ; it is noted for its longevity and the great girth of its trunk. The bark peels off in papery flakes, with a purplish to golden brown hue. The sharp, dull-green, needle-like leaves are stiff and leathery, long. This plant produces highly modified cones with two to four fused, fleshy, berry-like, juicy scales, bright red when mature. The cone contains one or two rounded seeds at the apex of the scales.
The largest known living tà Âtara, the Pouakani Tree, near Pureora in the central North Island, is over tall and nearly in trunk diameter at breast height. Bushmen discovered it in 1950. Other large trees are known in this area, while Whirinaki Forest, to the east, but also on deep recent volcanic soils, has groves of very tall tà Âtara (over in height).
The first informal description of Podocarpus totara was by Australian naturalist George Bennett in 1832, published as an appendix to Aylmer Bourke Lambert's third edition second volume of A Description of the Genus Pinus. When the species was formally described by David Don, he used Bennett's binomial name.
The two varieties of tà Âtara are:
Podocarpus totara var. waihoensis, also known as the Westland tà Âtara, is a variety found in the West Coast Region of the South Island, approximately south from the Waiho River. The variety is not recognised by some authors, and it may potentially be a hybrid of Podocarpus totara and Podocarpus acutifolius.
Its MÃÂori name comes from the Proto-Polynesian word *tootara (related to the word tara lit. 'thorn') which when passed down to descendant languages refer to spiny creatures, especially the porcupinefish (Diodon hystrix) due to its spiky leaves. The species epithet totara comes from the MÃÂori language name. The spelling "totara" without the tohutà  is also common in English.
Podocarpus totara is found in both the North Island and the South Island, growing in both lowland, montane and lower subalpine habitats, at elevations of up to It is rarely found on Stewart Island / Rakiura. TÃ Âtara is commonly found in lowland areas where the soil is fertile and well drained.
TÃ Âtara is often found regenerating on farmland, as it is not eaten by livestock. TÃ Âtara is so commonly found on Northland farms that some farmers consider the tree to be a weed.
In a classic example of Antarctic flora species-pair the tà Âtara is very closely related to Podocarpus nubigenus from South America, to the extent that if planted together, they are very difficult to distinguish. The best distinction is the grey-green tone of the leaves, compared to the slightly brighter green of P. nubigenus.
TÃ Âtara grows easily from fresh seed and cuttings. It has been planted in the United Kingdom as far north as Inverewe, Scotland.
Several cultivars for garden use have been introduced. These include 'Albany Gold' and 'Aurea', both have yellow 'gold' foliage that darkens in winter; 'Pendula', which has a weeping growth habit that is especially pronounced in young plants; 'Silver Falls', also pendulous but with cream-edged foliage; and 'Matapouri Blue', which has a conical form and glaucous foliage.
The wood is hard, straight-grained, and very resistant to rot, especially its heartwood. Due to its durability, tà Âtara wood was often used for fence posts, floor pilings, and railway sleepers. It is also prized for its carving properties, and was the primary wood used in MÃÂori carving. It was the primary wood used to make waka (canoes) in traditional MÃÂori boat building due to its relatively light weight (about 25% lighter than kauri), long, straight lengths, and natural oils in the wood that help prevent rotting. Tà Âtara could be drilled with chert points to make holes near the edges of the timber without splitting. In larger tà Âtara waka, three or more sections were laced together with flax rope. A tà Âtara waka took at least a year to make using stone adzes.
During European settlement, tà Âtara wood was prized as a rot-resistant, strong and durable material, used to construct wharf piles, railway sleepers and fence posts.
Bark from tà Âtara is used to cover and protect traditional pà Âhàbags, and smoke from tà Âtara wood was used as a traditional remedy for skin ailments. Early European settlers working in the bush would often make infusions of tà Âtara leaves for upset stomachs.
The red flesh of tà Âtara berries is edible.
The diterpene totarol was first isolated from the heartwood of Podocarpus totara in 1910, during investigations into what caused the tree's resistance to rotting. While totarol is no longer typically isolated from the tree in commercial production, it is a common ingredient in cosmetics.
Within MÃÂori culture, the tà Âtara is regarded as a symbol of strength and mana. Upon the death of a prominent figure, the phrase Kua hinga te tà Âtara i te wao nui a TÃÂne ("A mighty tà Âtara has fallen in the forest of TÃÂne") or similar is often used as a mark of respect. Because of its use as a material for waka, the tà Âtara is often associated with Tà «matauenga, the god of war, and an alternative name for the tree is Tà «-kau-Moana, or Tà « who swims in the ocean.
Due to the tree's resistance to rot, tà Âtara logs would often be long-lasting fixtures of rivers, lakes and harbours. This led to tà Âtara logs becoming associated with taniwha, such as Te Upoko o Huraki Tai, a taniwha believed to inhabit a tà Âtara log on Lake Rotoiti, and Rangititi, who lived on a log on the Wairoa River near Dargaville. Rangititi is seen as a poor omen to NgÃÂti WhÃÂtua, who traditionally interpret birds landing on the log as a sign of death.