Rhopalostylis sapida - The nikau palm is the only palm tree endemic to New Zealand. This palm is also the southern most of palm trees; it can be found on Pitt Island, located to the south-east of New Zealand’s south island. It is a slow growing palm averaging heights of 15 meters. The Maori used the nikau palm extensively; the base of the inner leaves and the flower clusters were eaten. The long fibrous fronds were dried and woven into baskets, floor mats, and used as a roofing material.
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Abel Tasman was the first European to sight New Zealand. He mistakenly thought his discovery was connected to the South American continent and named it Staten Landt. In 1645, three years after Tasman’s discovery, Dutch cartographers renamed the land "Nova Zeelandia”, in reference to Zeeland, a Dutch province. James Cook completed the most extensive exploration of the island and anglicized it to New Zealand. The Maori, the first inhabitants of New Zealand, referred to their island as “Aotearoa."
