Miro (Prumnopitys ferruginea) in the Podocarpaceae family is one of New Zealand’s noted rain forest trees, reaching 25m high and 1.5 to 2m in diameter. It has dark green foliage like English Yew, with purplish plum-like fruit. Miro has smooth bark common to other Podocarps, designed to stop creepers attaching and smothering the tree.

Miro was used like Rimu for housing and furniture but it didn’t seem to have quite the same status. It was sometimes called “poor man’s Rimu”. Miro is a hard dense timber, a more brownish colour than Rimu and was called “brown pine” by the early pioneers.

It is an excellent wood for turning, finishing well and not having such an irritating and toxic dust as Rimu.