kohekohe

{{Short description|Species of tree endemic to New Zealand}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2022}}

{{Distinguish|Khoekhoe}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Kohekohe337tr2.jpg

| image_caption = Kohekohe (Didymocheton spectabilis)

| genus = Didymocheton

| species = spectabilis

| authority = (G.Forst.) Mabb. & Holzmeyer (2021)

| synonyms =

• Alliaria spectabilis {{small|Kuntze (1891)}}
• Dysoxylum spectabile {{small|(G.Forst.) Hook.f. (1864)}}
• Hartighsea spectabilis {{small|A.Juss. (1830 publ. 1831)}}
• Trichilia cauliflora {{small|Sol. ex A.Cunn. (1839)}}
• Trichilia spectabilis {{small|G.Forst. (1786)}}

| synonyms_ref={{cite web|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77222455-1| accessdate=9 February 2024|title=Plants of the World Online: Didymocheton spectabilis (G.Forst.) Mabb. & Holzmeyer}}

}}

Kohekohe (Didymocheton spectabilis) is a medium-sized tree in the Meliaceae family, native to New Zealand. It is found in lowland and coastal forests throughout most of the North Island and also occurs in the Marlborough Sounds in the north of the South Island. Mature trees grow up to {{convert|15|m|sigfig=1}} in height, with a trunk up to a metre in diameter.{{Cite web|last=de Lange|first=P.J.|date=2022|title=Didymocheton spectabilis|url=https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/didymocheton-spectabilis/|access-date=31 January 2022|website=New Zealand Plant Conservation Network}}

The name kohekohe is derived from Proto-Polynesian *kofe meaning a type of bamboo (ʻohe); its thickening leaf stem bases may have reminded early Polynesian settlers to those of the ʻohe.{{cite web|url=https://www.temarareo.org/TMR-Kohekohe.html|title=Kohe, Kohekohe|website=Te Māra Reo|date=2023|publisher=Benson Family Trust}} A fairly close relative of true mahogany (Swietenia), it is also called New Zealand mahogany, because its wood is light, strong and polishes to a fine red colour.

Kohekohe is notable for having characteristics normally associated with trees growing in the tropics, for example, its flowers and fruit grow directly from the trunk or branches (known as cauliflory), and it has large, glossy, pinnate leaves up to {{convert|40|cm|abbr=on}} in length. The inflorescences of kohekohe may be up to {{convert|30|cm|abbr=on}} long, and the flowers produce a strong sweet smell.{{Cite web|last=Roper|first=Gil|date=20 August 2021|title=Know the native tree species in Tawa reserves with Gil Roper – Kohekohe trees in winter|url=https://tawabush.org.nz/2021/08/20/know-the-native-tree-species-in-tawa-reserves-with-gil-roper-kohekohe-trees-in-winter/|access-date=9 February 2022|website=Friends of Tawa Bush}} The large green fruit takes around fifteen months to ripen. The fruit contains three or four cells containing a seed encased in a fleshy orange-coloured aril. The tree does not flower in the year while the fruit capsules are maturing, and therefore individual trees may flower in alternate years.{{Cite book|last=Salmond|first=John T.|title=The Native Trees of New Zealand|publisher=Heinemann-Reed|year=1989|isbn=0790001047|pages=240–241|language=en}}

Kohekohe forest used to be common in damp coastal and lowland areas in the North Island, but these forests have mostly disappeared because the land was used for settlement or they were browsed by possums.{{cite web|url=http://www.bushmansfriend.co.nz/dysoxylum-spectabile-kohekohe-xidc17756.html|title=Bushmansfriend - Dysoxylum spectabile Kohekohe - dysoxylum, spectible, kohekohe, bush, forest, ...|publisher=|access-date=22 October 2016}} Studies have shown rapid recovery in kohekohe canopy after implementation of possum control.{{Cite journal| last=Nugent|first=Graham|last2=Whitford|first2=Jackie|last3=Innes| first3=John|last4=Prime|first4=Kevin|year=2002|journal=New Zealand Journal of Ecology| volume=26|issue=1|title=Rapid recovery of kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile) following possum control| url=https://newzealandecology.org/nzje/2140.pdf|access-date=31 January 2022}}

Māori boiled the bark in water and drank it as a tonic.{{Cite web|url=http://web.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/science/about/departments/sbs/newzealandplants/maoriuses/medicinal/trees/kohekohe-dysoxylum.cfm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208154350/http://web.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/science/about/departments/sbs/newzealandplants/maoriuses/medicinal/trees/kohekohe-dysoxylum.cfm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-02-08|title=Kohekohe, Dysoxylum - Faculty of Science - The University of Auckland|date=2013-02-08|access-date=2020-04-17}} The wood was used for building canoes but is soft and not as durable as other woods and tends to rot quickly. It is valued for carving. Kohekohe was probably the dominant vegetation cover on Kapiti Island before it was cleared in the early 19th century for cultivation and farming. The kohekohe forest on Kapiti is recovering after possums were eradicated in 1986.