Queen Street Nikau

Once again Auckland's morning defied the meteorologists' predictions of rain, although my run which began in the dark, was still in dull light at the end due to the heavy cloud cover. Not a lot of light, therefore.

In response to the week's challenge, I set out with the intention of finding Nikau to photograph. So I headed to Auckland Domain. Like many of Auckland's oldest parks and open spaces, most of the trees are introduced species, and although there is a section with native trees, I expected that it was dank and dark this morning, so I didn't go there. Hard to run in in the dark, as the paths are very uneven.

Next I tried Albert Park, by the Auckland University. Not a native in the whole park. So I sort of gave up the search and was headed home. To get home from there, the shortest route was through the central city, crossing Queen Street which is set in what was a swampy gully more than 150 years ago. With Nikau. A few years back (against the advice of some botanists) the Council decided to reflect the past and plant Nikau by one of the major intersections on Queen Street. Nikau have returned, as I remembered and looked for and found.

Nikau is unique to New Zealand, and is our only native palm. It can grow up to 15 m tall. It is usually a northern coastal and lowland tree. The flowers provide nectar for bees and tui and bellbirds. The berries provide food for kereru (native pigeon) and kaka. Maori used almost all parts of the Nikau; the leaves as thatch, for weaving and for wrapping food for cooking in hangi. The berries were used for decoration when green, and to eat when ripe; the trunk for pots. Nikau take 200 years or more to reach full height.