Podocarpus Totara - Cultivation and Uses

Cultivation and Uses

The wood is hard and straight-grained and very resistant to rot. Due to its durability, tōtara 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 Māori carving. It was the primary wood used to make waka (canoes) in traditional Maori boat building due to its relatively light weight (about 25% lighter than Kauri), long straight lengths and natural oils in the wood which help prevent rotting. Tōtara could be drilled with chert points to make holes near the edges of the timber without splitting. In larger tōtara waka, three or more sections were laced together with flax rope. A tōtara waka took at least a year to make using stone adzes.

Tōtara grows easily from fresh seed and cuttings. It has been planted in the United Kingdom as far north as Inverewe, Scotland.