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Story: Conifers

Tōtara seeds and foliage

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Tōtara seeds and foliage

Tōtara seeds are carried at the ends of little stalks that become succulent and red in autumn. Birds swallow the seeds and later void them intact. The leaves of tōtara are narrow with sharp tips, resembling the leaves of the European yew.

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New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

by Jeremy Rolfe

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How to cite this page

Maggy Wassilieff, Conifers – Tōtara group, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/12660/totara-seeds-and-foliage (accessed 5 June 2026).

Story by Maggy Wassilieff, published 1 March 2009.