"Kapu,, or adze."
<hw>Karaka</hw>, <i>n</i>. Maori name for a tree, <i>Corynocarpus laevigata</i>, Forst. <i>N.O. anacardiaceae</i>; also called <i>Cow-tree</i> (q.v.), forty feet high, with orange- coloured berries, two to three inches long.
1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 226:
"Two or three canoes were hauled up under some karaka trees, which formed a pleasant grove in a sort of recess from the beach."
Ibid. vol. i. p. 233:
"The karaka-tree much resembles the laurel in its growth and foliage. It bears bright orange-coloured berries about the size and shape of damsons, growing in bunches. The fruit is sickly and dry; but the kernel forms an important article of native food."
1859. A. S. Thomson, `Story of New Zealand,' p. 157:
"The karaka fruit is about the size of an acorn. The pulp is eaten raw; the kernel is cooked in the oven for ten days, and then steeped for several weeks in a running stream before it is fit for use. Karaka berries for winter use are dried in the sun. The kernel is poisonous uncooked."
1872. A. Domett, `Ranolf,' p. 108:
"The thick karakas' varnished green."