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'This is one of the most common trees of the New Zealand forest. The wood is worthless for most purposes, but splits with great ease. The wild pigeons feed on the berries, which taste strongly of turpentine. The inside of the berry consists of a nut like that of an acorn, which forms equally good food for pigs.'

(Edward Jerningham Wakefield, Illustrations to Adventure in New Zealand from 1839 to 1844; with some account of the beginning of British colonization of the islands. Plate XIII, no.2).