Introducing, the fierce lancewood.

It's not one of the largest. It's certainly not well known. It's not one of the best looking or even one of the better-looking trees. It's small, has sharp teeth that it's not afraid to use, and as a juvenile, is one of the ugliest stick-things you'd ever want to see. But I like it. It has a name that suites it and it's gaining in popularity as an ornamental, if you can believe that. 

Had Morticia Addams known about this little tree, she would have approved of it. No flowers on it that need snipping off, you know. And if you could string it's leaves together in a continuous way, you'd have a very passable band-saw blade. Uncle Fester would have liked that. No doubt about it, Morticia would have had a whole garden of these little, ah, beauties isn't really the right word. But she would have had a lot of them I think. 

It's a Pseudopanax ferox, aka the toothed lancewood, or my favorite name, the fierce lancewood.

I bolded and italicized the font when I typed it's name just now because this little tree deserves to be recognized as the tough little character that is is. Here is a close-up of it's green and growing 'leaves.' 

I found this one and the next picture on Wikipedia. 

The picture below is of a mature tree with a bunch of it's juvenile leaves still attached. 

I think that landing in a forest of these trees might be a parachutist's worst nightmare. Well, his second worst nightmare before jumping, and the worst one after his chute opens up. These trees would shred him upon arrival in their canopy. 

This tree is growing between the War Museum and the Winter Gardens in Auckland. 

Those points are all sharp as, and if that leaf doesn't look like a band-saw blade, I don't know what does.  

Whoever invented the cat o' nine tails needn't have bothered. Pulling up a sapling of the toothed lancewood and swinging it would make a horrendous whip.

Here are a couple of leaves that I found on the ground under a young tree on one of our walks to a waterfall.

I took the train in to Glen Eden to take these shots because they have some of these trees outside the city library. 

Rather unusual aren't they?

This one doesn't have quite as fearsome a tooth pattern as some have, but believe me, the tips are sharper than they appear.  The leaves are like leather and that heavy midrib makes it even stiffer and tougher. 

Well, there you have it. This very tough little tree is endemic to New Zealand. I have yet to find a mature tree anywhere, but I will be watchful whenever I get the opportunity to walk in the bush. I'd love to get some pictures of a big one. When I do, I think I'll use it as a header.       -djf