Puriri
Family: Verbenaceea Genus:
Vitex lucens
| Picture top: A fine
specimen of a Puriri tree of a medium hight. |
The Puriri is a typical Northland tree. It grows naturally from the North Cape down to northern Hawkes Bay, Taupo, and southern Waikato. The tree can reach a hight of 20 meters.
© Wairere Boulders (Nature Park, Horeke, Hokainga Harbour, Northland, New Zealand, NZ)
Photo:
The
puriri fruit (about half size). It is a drupe of about 2 cm in diametre.
The berries are muched loved by the opossums. The tree has flowers almost all year round.
Photo: The flower of the puriri. About original size.
Photo: Adult foilage differs from the juvenile leaves.
Photo: The knarly bark of the Puriri tree, reaching a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m.