Tāne Mahuta, also called "God of the Forest", is a giant

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely res ...

tree (''Agathis australis'') in the

Waipoua Forest Waipoua Forest is a forest, on the west coast of the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It preserves some of the best examples of kauri forest remaining in New Zealand. It is notable for having two of the largest living kauri t ...

Northland Region The Northland Region ( mi, Te Tai Tokerau) is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout the year. The main population ...

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 ...

. Its age is unknown but is estimated to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years. It is the largest living kauri tree known to stand today. It is named for

Tāne In Māori mythology, Tāne (also called Tāne-mahuta, Tāne-nui-a-Rangi, and several other names) is the god of forests and of birds, and the son of Ranginui and Papatūānuku, the sky father and the earth mother, who used to lie in a tight em ...

, the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

god of forests and of birds. The tree is a remnant of the ancient subtropical

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

that once grew on the

Northland Peninsula The Northland Peninsula, called the North Auckland Peninsula in earlier times, is in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is joined to the rest of the island by the Auckland isthmus, a narrow piece of land between the Waitematā H ...

. Other giant kauri are found nearby, notably

Te Matua Ngahere Te Matua Ngahere is a giant kauri (''Agathis australis'') coniferous tree in the Waipoua Forest of Northland Region, New Zealand. The tree's Māori name means "Father of the Forest". Although not as massive or tall as its neighbour Tāne Mahuta, ...

. Tāne Mahuta is the most famous tree in New Zealand, along with Te Matua Ngahere. It was discovered and identified in early January 1924 when contractors surveyed the present State Highway 12 route through the forest. In 1928, Nicholas Yakas and other bushmen, who were building the road, also identified the tree. In April 2009, Tāne Mahuta was formally partnered with the tree Jōmon Sugi on

Yakushima Island , native_name_link = , image_caption = Landsat image of Yakushima , image_size = , nickname = , location = East China Sea , coordinates = , map = Japan#Japan Kagoshima Prefecture , map_relief ...

, Japan. During the New Zealand drought of 2013, 10,000 litres of water from a nearby stream was diverted to Tāne Mahuta, which was showing signs of dehydration. In 2018, the tree was considered threatened by

kauri dieback Kauri dieback is a forest dieback disease of the native kauri trees (''Agathis australis'') of New Zealand that is suspected to be caused by the oomycete ''Phytophthora agathidicida.'' Symptoms can include root rot and associated rot in a col ...

, a generally fatal disease caused by a fungus which has already infected many nearby kauri trees. New Zealand's

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

initiated a plan to protect and save the tree from kauri dieback.

Measurements

The measurements above were taken in 2002 by Dr. Robert Van Pelt, a forest ecology researcher and affiliate assistant professor at the University of Washington. Former measurements taken in 1971 by the New Zealand Forestry Service may be found on The New Zealand Tree Register.

Name

In 2012,

Lady Davina Lewis Lady Davina Elizabeth Alice Benedikte Windsor (born 19 November 1977), known as Lady Davina Lewis between 2004 and 2018, is the elder daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. " Burke’s Royal Families of th ...

, daughter of

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944) is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, as wel ...

and

Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester, (born Birgitte Eva van Deurs Henriksen; 20 June 1946) is a Danish member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a grandson of George V. They have three children. E ...

, and her husband, the New Zealander Gary Lewis, named their son Tane Mahuta, after the tree.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tane Mahuta Individual kauri trees Forests of New Zealand Far North District Individual trees in New Zealand

Measurements

Name

See also

References