Puriri

Puriri (Vitex lucens) is an evergreen tree endemic to New Zealand.

History

Puriri was first collected (by Europeans) at Tolaga Bay by Banks and Solander during Cook's first visit in 1769. (It should be noted it was a well known and understood plant by Maori who first discovered and settled New Zealand). The plant was excellently described by Solander in his manuscript "Primitae Florae Novae Zelandiae" under the name Ephielis pentaphylla, and a drawing of considerable artistic merit was also prepared⁽⁷⁾. The next botanist to notice puriri, Allan Cunningham, did not do so until 1826 when he observed it on "the rocky shores of Bay of Islands, growing frequently within the range of salt water." Cunningham named it Vitex littoralis, correctly assigning it to the Vitex genus but overlooking that littoralis had been used for a Malayan species 4 years earlier. Kirk proposed V. lucens in 1897 after attention had been drawn to the fact that V. littoralis was taken^(4,7).

The Maori name of this tree is 'pūriri' or sometimes 'kauere' ⁽²⁶⁾. The common name in English is usually 'puriri', although 'New Zealand mahogany' and 'New Zealand teak' occur in older printed sources, especially in reference to the timber.