Maire

Nestegis spp. (Oleaceae)*; also Mida salicifolia (Nanodeaceae), Syzygium maire (Myrtaceae), and Leionema nudum* (Rutaceae)

*Plants of the genus Notelaea were formerly grouped under Olea, and later Nestegis. Leionema nudum was formerly known as Phebalium nudum.

Alternative names: Pūwhakahoro, also Mairangi (local origin); Pau, Notelaea cunninghamii, from Proto-Polynesian *Pau, a hardwood tree.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Proto Polynesian *Maile Alyxia stellata [and other Alyxia spp.] (Apocynaceae)

COGNATE WORDS IN SOME OTHER POLYNESIAN LANGUAGES
Tongan, Niuean: Maile (Alyxia stellata, Apocynaceae).
Tahitian: Maire (Alyxia stellata); also the fragrant fern Microsorum commutatum*, Polypodiaceae.
Hawaiian: Maile (Alyxia stellata*).
Marquesan: Mei'e (Alyxia sp.).
Tuamotuan: Maire hau (Microsorum grossum*, "Maile-scented fern", Polypodiaceae); Monoimaire (Alyxia scandens, Apocynaceae).
Rarotongan: Maire (Alyxia stellata); also a general name for ferns, applied especially to Microsorum grossum, "Serpent Fern" (Polypodiaceae).

*Note. The species previously referred to as Phymatosorus commutatus is now (2026) Microsorum commutatum; Phymatosorus scolopendria and P. grossus are now regarded as synonyms of Microsorum grossum. The Hawaiian variant of Alyxia stellata was formerly known as Alyxia olivaeformis.

RELATED MĀORI PLANT NAMES
Mairehau (Leionema nudum, Rutaceae)
Rōroro - the name for the juvenile forms of all species of Notelaea.
Note: See the pages for Proto-Polynesian *Maile and Māori/Tuamotuan Mairehau for more information about the ancestral names, their modern descendents, and the plants they denote.

Introduction
Black, White, Narrow-leaved and Coastal Maire - Trees of the genus Notelaea
Maire taiki - Mida salicifolia
Maire tawake - Syzygium maire
Gallery

There are two strands in the way the inherited plant name maire has been applied in Aotearoa: one which reflects the fragrnce of the pan-Polynesian maile vine, and and the other which reflects its olive-like fruit (and perhaps also its eliptical leaves). The first strand is represented by the fragrant shrub mairehau or māireire (Leionema nudum in Māori, and the scented fern Microsorum grossum in Tuamotuan, which are described on separate pages. The other set of the plants known as maire in Aotearoa and discussed on this page are trees, some of which are occasionally called "olives" in English (the Hawaiian variant of the tropical maile also had until recently the Latin or Greek word for "olive" woven into its botanical name). This convergence and divergence of the Polynesian term maire or maile and the Indo-European terms for "olive" is discussed in some detail on the page for Ōriwa, the word acquired by Māori from English for "olive".

There are seven species of trees from four different plant families having olive-shaped fruit and / or notably fragrant leaves, flowers or fruit which share the name maire in Aotearoa. One of these, the mairehau or māireire (Leionoma nudum) is discussed on a separate page. The others are:

Notelaea species generally (Oleaceae), Maire, and primarily:
Notelaea cunninghamii: Maire raunui "black Maire", also known as Pau;
and Notelaea neolanceolata Maire rauriki "White Maire", (also): Maire raunui (!);
along with Notelaea montana: Maire kōtae, maire rōroro, maire rauriki "Narrow-leaved Maire";
Notelaea apetala "Coastal Maire";
Also two botanically unrelated species:
Mida salicifolia (Nanodeaceae): Maire, Maire taiki;
Syzygium maire (Myrtaceae): Maire tawake, Maire tawhake.

Black, White, Narrow-leaved and Mountain Maire - Trees of the genus Notelaea

The four species of Notelaea are the close relatives of the European olive in our flora. Like the Mediterranean olive they have hard durable wood and bear small, single-seeded fruit. As a group they have an interesting mix of unisexual and bisexual flowers. Also, the flowers of N. cunnighamii have only two stamens, but in other species although the usual number is two, some flowers may have 3, 4 or 6 stamens, with female flowers having a corresponding number of staminodes (abortive or non-functioning stamens). The fruit are greatly esteemed by birds, but apparently kererū feast on the fruits the black and white Maire, but avoid those of the Maire kōtae.

Noteleia cunninghamii -- Maire rau nui (Black Maire) ~ Pau

[Etymology of alternative name, Pau. From Proto Oceanic *Bau, a general name for hardwood trees in the family Sapotaceae, through Proto Polynesian *Pau.]

One of these trees, N. cunninghamii, the black maire (maire rau nui), is a very large canopy tree (up to 20m. high and with a straight trunk well over a metre in diameter). This tree has also inherited another name, pau, unsurprisinly as its impressive form and tough, multipurpose wood are highly reminiscent of the tropical tree of the same name. The maire rau nui is found throughout the North Island in forests from sea level to 760 m, although it is much less common than it once was because for decades it was a principal source of high-quality firewood -- it has a very tough, slow and clean-burning wood. J. T. Salmon, in his Native Trees of New Zealand recounts that:

From my boyhood in Palmerston North I can recall the rail truckloads of maire logs obtained each year by my parents for firewood; in our fireplace maire burned slowly with great heat and without sparking. (p. 286)

The hard dark-brown wood is often streaked with black, and has multiple uses, particularly when strength and durability are required. It was one of the woods used for making weapons such as mere and patu.

The narrow, leathery leaves look a bit like stretched laurel leaves; they're up to 25 cm long in the juvenile stage, and about half that in the adult form. The leaves are bright, dark-green above and sometimes look slightly blistered; underneath they are dull pale green with conspicuous veins. The tree flowers in Spring, and the fruit takes about a year to ripen. The flowers are often bisexual, but sometimes male and female flowers are on separate trees, or in different racemes (each with up to 12 tiny flowers) on the same tree. They fruit look a bit like koroneiki olives and are about the same size – oval, broader at the stalk than the tip, and borne on little branchlets.The ripe fruits are brightly coloured, orangey-red or yellow. The bark on mature trees is greyish brown, with horizontal and vertical fissures that form a netwok of rectangles.

According to Elsdon Best (TNZI 1907, p.218) the Maire was regarded by Tuhoe as the child of Te Pū-whakahara, a son of Tāne, and Hine-pipi. (Te Pū-whakahara may also be the personification of a star), He quotes a proverb reflecting the strength of its timber, which may also be applied to obstinate people or those of strong character.:

E kore e ngawhere, he maire tū wao, mā te toki e tua.
It will not break (or work) easily, it is a forest-standing maire, the axe alone can fell it.

Notelaea neolanceolata -- Maire rauriki (White Maire)

N. neolanceolata, the white maire (in the past known botanically as Olea lanceolata, then Nestegis lanceolata), grows not quite as large as N. cunninghamii (up to 15 m.). It can be found in forests scattered through the North Island and in the Northwest corner of the South Island. The leaves are shiny, 5 -12 cm long by 1 - 3.5 cm wide , tapering to a point, with the midrib level on top and raised underneath. The petioles (leaf stalks) are about 1 cm long. Sometimes the trees have only male or female flowers. The fruit (illustrated on the left) is reddish when ripe and more attenuated than with the black maire (although blunt at the tip) and slightly ribbed. The timber is yellow to light brown in colour, and especially tough and durable. It was ideal for weapons such as mere, patu and taiaha, and symbolized the qualities of a warrior:

E, ko te matakahi maire!
Oh, there's the maire wedge! (i.e. a great warrior, able to cut through the enemy.)

Interestingly, in 1879 William Colenso associated this proverb primarily with the maire taiki Mida salicifolia (then known as Santalum cunninghamii), but noted that "at the south parts of the North Island Maire is the Maori name of the Olea [= Notelaea] cunninghamii" ("Proverbs", p. 141). This underlines the "Mairetanga" of all these trees, including Maire hau, the Māireire or "Maire through and through", and explains why some of the writing about "Maire" in Aotearoa can be confusing when it comes to relating it to a particular species.

The tree was also used in making tokatoka (walking sticks), paoi or patu aruhe (fernroot beaters), kaheru (wooden spades) and kō (digging sticks), and sometimes even patu muka (flax beaters, which generally were made of stone). Elsdon Best reports (TNZI 1970, p. 216) that a formidable weapon, the wahaika, was fashioned from the roots of this tree. In more recent times it has been used for making woodwind instruments like recorders, and also components of golf clubs. The wood does not split easily, and is one of those woods which when dried and seasoned resists and bends nails. It is also excellent firewood, slow-burning and extremely hot.

Two songs in Ngā Mōteatea feature the connection between these species of Maire and weapons of war.

Nā te aha i tukituki te upoko o Tama-ki-te-kapua?
Na te ake-rautangi, ē, maire matatū,
Te tama a Ruru-tangi-akau e uū i te wao.

What was it that crushed the head of Tama-ki-te-kapua?
It was the ake-rautangi, and the enduring maire,
The forest-grown son of Ruru-tangi-akau.

Tama-ki-te-kapua was a Whānau-a-Apanui chief who was captured and killed by an adversary whom he had previously spared in battle. The son of Ruru-tangi-akau is the personification of the ake (Dodonaea viscosa), the kahikātoa (red mānuka) and the other woods (like the maire) from which weapons of war were made. Ruru-tangi-akau was one of the departmental gods of the forest. (NM 225, He Waiata Tautitotito, by Uri-kore of Ngāti Porou, lines 10-12; note by A.T. Ngata).

Kauaka hei anga hei kōmuku mai rā ki ahau.
Tēnā ka tata te wai papanui,
Te tipi hauraro, te maire kō ana, aue.

Do not turnabout and murmur about me.
Presently the waters will overflow the land,
Of the low sweep of the maire weapon, beware!

The maire, Notelaea cunninghamii and other species of Notelaea are weapons of war used in tapakō, downward thrust. (Kō is really a digging instrument, but there are accounts where it has been used as a weapon of war). (NM 262, He tangi mō Rangi-Whaitiri, Rongowhakaata, Tūranga, Lines 4-6; notes by Henare Ruru and Pei te Hurunui.)

Noteleia apetala -- Coastal Maire

N. apetalata, the coastal maire, is a small tree or shrub native to the Bay of Islands and Whangarei and offshore islands from theThree Kings to Little Barrier and some islands in the Coromandel region; it is also found on Norfolk Island. Its fruit are similar to those of the black Maire, but smaller, and taper more acutely. It has glossy, broad, crinkly, rather leathery leaves broader than those of the black Maire, even broader in the juvenile than the adult form, but it is a much smaller tree, reaching only about 6m, or a somewhat sprawling shrub in exposed locations. The flowers are produced in racemes of up to 21 flowers, and may be either bisexual or unisexual. They have large white or pinkish petals and are much more conspicuous than those of the other Notelaea species. The tree has a dark pink to purple fruit, often spotted with white, borne in loose clusters.

Notelaea montana -- Maire kotae, Orooro (Narrow-leaved Maire)

The fourth species of Notelaea, N. montana (oro-oro, maire kōtae or maire rōroro) is also found throughout the North Island and the north of the South Island. It has a much shorter and slimmer trunk (about 60 cm in diameter) than the white and black maire, but it grows to 15m nonetheless, with an extensive multi-branched canopy. Its fruit is shorter and narrower than the other maire (less than 1cm long) and its narrow leaves seem to come straight from the branches as the leaf stalks are only a millimetre or two long. The twigs are very slender, and the bark is very similar to that of the black maire.

Despite its specific name, this tree is not a denizen of the mountains -- it grows naturally in lowland and lower-montane forests from sea level to 600 m in the North Island and Northern South Island. Like the other trees in this group, it has very strong and durable timber.

Mida salicifolia -- Maire taiki (Maire)

Yet another maire is the maire taiki (usually just called "maire" in English), Mida salicifolia. It has shiny, dark-green leaves with dotted glands on the underside and a light-coloured midrib. They are alternate or almost so along the branchlets. The leaves are reminiscent of the white maire, but the species is in quite a different botanical grouping from Notelaea and Olea. In Northland they tend to be much wider (like those illustrated to the left) than the very narrow and attenuated leaves of trees growing naturally further south (illustrated in the gallery below), which are much more willow-like; however the leaves can vary markedly in width even on the same tree. The tree is confined naturally to the North Island, encountered more often in the north than the south; it is a tree of forest margins and more open areas rather than the canopied interior.

In his Māori Healing Plants and Herbal, Murdock Riley writes that in Māori tradition, this was a sacred tree, and special ceremonies were required before it could be felled. This was probably in part a conservation measure applied also to other Maire (the members of the genus Notelaea), as their firewood was greatly valued; it gives off a great deal of light and heat, which is just what you need in a house with neither chimney or electricity, and being relatively easy to fell it could soon have been a candidate for extinction. Maire taiki is a member of the sandalwood family, so its wood may also have a pleasant fragrance. Maire taiki was one of the plants from which wands were taken to be used in healing and other rites.

This tree can photosynthesise and obtain its own nutrients, but thrives best where it can tap into the resources of a neighbour. In kauri forests, it has been found to be parasitic on the roots of kauri, rimu and tanekaha.

Syzygium maire -- Maire tawake (Swamp Maire)

The last of the maire is the maire tawake or swamp maire, also known as whāwhākou and tuhuhi. It is now known scientifically as Syzygium maire (in older books it will be called Eugenia maire). Left to itself, it will grow about 15m high, with a spreading canopy and a trunk up to 60 cm in diameter (some trees have several trunks), with a light-coloured smooth bark and sometimes a yellowish-green crown. Its leaves are reminiscent of maire hau, less attenuated than black maire (8-10mm long) and with prominent blisters. The branchlets are rectangular in section.The tree produces many-flowered inflorescences, each nectar-rich flower with an abundance of long, white stamens, and tiny petals. It bears fruit, bright red when ripe, in clusters with one fruit to a stalk and one seed per fruit. The fruit look a bit like mini-persimmons about 12 mm in diameter, and, as with most of its namesakes, they take about a year to ripen. Although each fruit contains only a single seed, the seeds contain multiple embryos so each can produce several plants.

This is a very important tree, excellent for protecting riverbanks. When it was more abundant, it was, like the other (albeit botanically very distantly related), Maire a source of first class slow-burning firewood. The berries were used by Māori and early European settlers to make a delicious dessert. The young twigs and bark can also be steeped in water to make a blue-black dye for flax. The tree has many relatives in Asia, the Pacific and America which have medicinal properties, and, among other things, the Māori used a decoction of the inner bark for treating ringworm. More recently, it has been discovered that the berries of maire tawake have a level of antioxidants 18 times greater than blueberries, which are the standard point of comparison for antioxidant-rich fruit.The tree grows naturally in swampy forests throughout the North Island (it was once especially common in the Waikato) and in a few locations in the northern South Island, and actually needs the excess water to flourish. It can stand wet feet and even a wet base -- it produces pneumataphores to help it cope with flooded environments, and also occasionally similar special breathing roots from its trunk. The tree usually dies if the swamp in which it's growing is drained. It will grow in areas whic are not swampy provided they are not subjected to drought. As well as by changes in land use, it is seriously threatened by possums, which place it in the category of notably threatened plants.