Swamp kauri, sometimes marketed as "ancient kauri", are prehistoric kauri trees (''

Agathis australis ''Agathis australis'', commonly known by its Māori name kauri (), is a coniferous tree in the family '' Araucariaceae'', found north of 38°S in the northern regions of New Zealand's North Island. It is the largest (by volume) but not t ...

''), buried and preserved in peat up to 50,000 years ago in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

's North Island. Buried under a peat swamp by an unexplained act of nature at the end of the last Ice Age, the trees have survived the centuries underground, sealed in a chemically balanced environment that has preserved the timber in almost perfect condition. The trees grew for nearly 2000 years before they were buried. Some have a girth of around 40 feet, and a total height of nearly 200 feet. Only the lower trunk section and ball-root structure is predominantly found. The trunk tends to taper to a "V" shape as the portion of the log lying above ground has decayed to ground level. Some logs are on a 20-degree angle into the ground suggesting they have fallen over with force, probably under a larger tree that has fallen on top. For this reason complete round logs lying deeper in the ground are occasionally found. Extraction of the logs is time consuming, expensive and technically difficult, requiring skilled operators of heavy machinery working in wet conditions. Each log must be carefully brought to the surface. If the log is salvaged from native forest or wetlands then after the log has been removed, the area is then restored to its original contours. The extracted kauri has become an alternative source for

old-growth An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...

wood supply and often finds its way to furniture builders, boat makers, and wood artisans. A trademark of swamp kauri is deep, shimmering streaks of iridescence, called "white bait", found in some of the wilder grain patterns. This particular grain is named after schools of New Zealand

whitebait Whitebait is a collective term for the immature fry of fish, typically between long. Such young fish often travel together in schools along coasts, and move into estuaries and sometimes up rivers where they can be easily caught using fine- ...

fish that emit a similar pattern when swimming in one direction.Carlsen p.8

Notes

References

* * {{cite book , last = Adams , first = J. G. , title = Kauri: A King Among Kings , publisher = Wilson & Horton Group , date=1980 , isbn = 0-86864-080-8 Agathis