Broadly conical, evergreen. Shiny, silver-green leaves 3-7cm long. Tiny flowers, dark red, then green to black capsules with sticky black seeds. Good shelter & screening tree. Throughout NZ except Westland, where P. colensoi takes over.

Broadly conical or spreading when open grown, evergreen. Huge trunks on old trees. Bark peels in long strips. Tiny fruits attract birds. Timber is prized for carving & interior joinery.

Can grow to 25m usually a single trunk, branches weeping and spreading. Adult leaflets 30-50, not crowded or overlapping, of similar size, with an obvious petiolule, moderately to sparcely hairy, hairs straight and appressed. Leaves >30mm, leaflet pairs >6. Juveniles divaricating and interlacing branching. Can be deciduous in a cold climate. To 7 Yellow flowers in a bunch in Spring attract tuis and bellbirds, pigeons feed on the leaves.